JP6519428B2 - Cooling device and power supply device having the cooling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device and a power supply device having the cooling device.

  In recent years, electric vehicles using a power supply device for propulsion have become widespread. Electric vehicles are known in various configurations. For example, vehicles equipped with a motor for driving (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle), and hybrid cars equipped with an engine in addition to the motor (HEV: Hybrid Electric Vehicle) )and so on. A plurality of battery cells are used in power supply devices mounted on these electric vehicles. Each battery cell is a secondary battery that can be charged and discharged, such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel hydrogen battery.

  A typical power supply device for an electric vehicle includes a plurality of assembled batteries consisting of a plurality of battery cells. By assembling a plurality of battery cells to form an assembled battery, the assemblability of the power supply device can be improved. The number of battery cells of the assembled battery is appropriately determined in consideration of the assembling property, the workability, and the like.

  In this field, techniques for cooling a plurality of battery cells are important. For example, it is known that when charged and discharged in a high temperature state, battery characteristics of the battery cell are significantly degraded. In view of such a problem, as described in Patent Document 1 below, a power supply device having a cooling device has been proposed.

  The power supply device disclosed in Patent Document 1 below includes a battery pack and a cooling device. The assembled battery includes a plurality of battery cells assembled. The cooling device includes a plate for mounting the battery assembly and a cooling pipe for heat exchange. When the temperature of the battery cell rises, the heat of the battery cell is transferred to the plate. Heat exchange between the plate and the cooling pipe takes place via the refrigerant flowing inside the cooling pipe. Also, the cooling pipe includes a curved pipe. With this configuration, it is possible to provide an inlet and an outlet at one end of the cooling plate.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2010-277863

  The cooling device of patent document 1 is a structure which incorporates a cooling pipe in the inside of a metal-made plate. The metal plate incorporating the cooling pipe can be formed, for example, by casting. Specifically, a metal plate incorporating a cooling pipe can be formed by pouring the melted metal into the mold in a state where the cooling pipe formed in advance is disposed. On the other hand, casting metal plates tend to be relatively expensive to manufacture, and there is a need for a cooling device having a structure that can reduce the manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. The main object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device having a simple structure and a power supply device equipped with the cooling device.

In order to solve the above problems, a cooling device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first plate, a second plate, a flow path formed between the first plate and the second plate, and a seal portion. Prepare. The first plate has a partition wall projecting from one side. The second plate is located on one side of the first plate and is fixed to the first plate. The flow path includes an inflow side flow path connected to the inflow port, and an outflow side flow path connected to the outflow port. The inflow side flow passage and the outflow side flow passage are adjacent to each other via the partition wall. The seal closes the gap between the partition wall and the second plate. The seal portion has a first slope facing the inflow side channel. The first slope is inclined with respect to the extending direction of the second plate so that the upper end of the first slope is located outside the lower end.

  In the cooling device configured to fix two plates and form a flow path between the two plates, the flow path is partitioned via the partition wall. The flow path partitioned through the partition wall includes the inflow side flow path and the outflow side flow path adjacent to each other through the partition wall. In this configuration, if the airtightness of the boundary between the partition wall and the plate is insufficient, the refrigerant flowing in the channel does not flow along the channel, and the refrigerant leaks from the gap between the partition wall and the plate to the adjacent channel Problems may occur. If the refrigerant does not flow along the flow path, the plate can not be cooled as designed, and the cooling efficiency of the cooling device is reduced. In particular, when the plate constituting the cooling device is enlarged, the plate may be deformed by its own weight, so it is important to sufficiently improve the airtightness of the boundary between the partition wall and the plate.

  In a configuration of an aspect of the present invention, a seal portion is provided to close the gap between the partition wall and the second plate, and the inflow side channel has a higher water pressure than the outflow side flow channel. The seal portion is configured to be biased toward the partition wall. Further, the seal portion can be prevented from rising due to an external force applied to the first slope of the seal portion. When the second plate is deformed by its own weight, a gap is generated between the first plate and the second plate. According to such a configuration, even when the seal portion can not be held by the first plate and the second plate , And the gap between the second plate and the partition wall can be closed.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the power supply device in the embodiment of the present invention. It is an exploded perspective view of a cooling device in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the assembled battery of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the assembled battery of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows another example of the assembled battery of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows another example of the assembled battery of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the power supply device of FIG. It is a sectional view of a seal part in an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the power supply device of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the power supply device of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the power supply device of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a power supply device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a battery assembly 2 and a cooling device 3. The battery assembly 2 is disposed on the cooling device 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling device 3 according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first plate 30 and a second plate 31. The second plate 31 is fixed to the first plate 30, and the flow path 32 is formed between the first plate 30 and the second plate 31. The second plate 31 is provided with an inlet 36 and an outlet 37 for the refrigerant flowing through the flow path 32, and is configured to circulate the refrigerant. The upper surface of the first plate 30 is a flat surface, and the battery assembly 2 can be mounted. The inlet 36 and the outlet 37 may be provided in the first plate 30 instead of the second plate 31.

  Further, FIG. 1 schematically shows the battery pack 2. The battery assembly 2 can take various forms as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. On the other hand, these battery packs 2 commonly have a cooling surface for heat exchange. The cooling surface of the battery assembly 2 is in thermal contact with the cooling device 3. Heat exchange between the battery assembly 2 and the cooling device 3 takes place on the cooling surface of the battery assembly. An insulating heat conducting member may be disposed between the battery pack 2 and the cooling device 3. Specifically, thermally conductive members such as sheets and gels are known.

  The battery pack 2 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 includes a battery stack 20A and a fastening portion 25A. The battery stack 20A includes a plurality of battery cells and a plurality of insulating spacers 24A. Each battery cell is a rectangular battery 21A having a flat rectangular parallelepiped outer package 22A and an output terminal provided on one surface of the outer package 22A. The exterior 22A of the prismatic battery 21A is formed of metal and has a potential. In order to prevent a short circuit due to condensation water or the like, the surface of the exterior body 22A may be covered with an insulating layer such as an insulating shrink tube. The plurality of prismatic batteries 21A are stacked in one direction so that the wide faces of the outer package bodies 22A face each other. Each insulating spacer 24A is interposed between the adjacent prismatic batteries 21A to prevent contact between the exterior bodies 22A of the adjacent prismatic batteries 21A. The fastening portion 25A includes a pair of end plates 26A and a plurality of restraint members 27A. The pair of end plates 26A is disposed on each end face of the battery stack 20A in the stacking direction. Each restraint member 27A is fixed to the pair of end plates 26A and extends in the stacking direction of the battery stack 20A.

  According to the above-described configuration, a plurality of exterior bodies 22A are formed on the cooling surface of the battery assembly 2. Therefore, the heat exchange between the battery pack 2 and the cooling device 3 performed on the cooling surface of the battery pack 2 can cool each battery cell.

  The battery pack 2 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 has a plurality of battery cells, a rectangular parallelepiped holding portion 23B for holding a plurality of battery cells, and a pair of connecting portions 24B for connecting the battery cells. . Each of the battery cells is a cylindrical battery 21B having a cylindrical outer package 22B and output terminals provided on respective axial end surfaces of the outer package 22B. The outer package 22B of the cylindrical battery 21B is formed of metal and has a potential. In order to prevent a short circuit due to condensation water or the like, the surface of the exterior body 22B may be covered with an insulating layer such as an insulating shrink tube. The holding portion 23B is an insulating member having a plurality of through holes. The plurality of cylindrical batteries 21B are inserted into the respective through holes of the holding portion 23B. The holding portion 23B holds each cylindrical battery 21B in a state where the output terminals at both ends are exposed.

  Each connecting portion 24B includes a conductive plate 25B for connecting output terminals of a plurality of cylindrical batteries 21B, a bus bar holder 26B for holding the conductive plate 25B, and a cover plate 27B fitted to the bus bar holder 26B. It contains. The bus bar holder 26B has a plurality of through holes corresponding to the respective cylindrical batteries 21B. The bus bar holder 26B is connected to the end of the holding portion 23B so as to insert the plurality of cylindrical batteries 21B into the plurality of through holes of the bus bar holder 26B. The bus bar holder 26B and the cover plate 27B define a housing space for housing the conductive plate 25B. After the conductive plate 25B is connected to the output terminals of the plurality of cylindrical batteries 21B, the accommodation space is filled with a resin (not shown). The resin filled in the housing space has thermal conductivity and insulation. Further, the resin filled in the accommodation space is in thermal contact with the plurality of cylindrical batteries 21B and the cover plate 27B.

  According to the above-described configuration, one cover plate 27B is located on the cooling surface of the battery assembly 2. As described above, the heat of the plurality of cylindrical batteries 21B is transmitted to the cover plate 27B via the resin filled in the housing space. Therefore, the heat exchange between the battery pack 2 and the cooling device 3 performed on the cooling surface of the battery pack 2 can cool each battery cell.

  The battery assembly 2 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 includes a battery stack 20C and a fastening portion 25C. Battery stack 20C includes a plurality of battery cells, a plurality of heat transfer plates 23C, and a plurality of frames 24C. Each battery cell is a pouch battery 21C having a flat sheet-shaped exterior body 22C. The exterior 22C of the pouch battery 21C is formed of a laminate film. A laminate film is a composite material in which a resin layer and a metal layer are combined, and has insulating properties. After covering the power generation element with a laminate film, the peripheral portion of the laminate film is heat-welded. In this manner, the sealing portion 28C is formed on the periphery of the exterior body 22C. Further, a housing portion 29C for housing the power generation element is formed at the center of the exterior body 22C.

  The plurality of frames 24C are stacked in one direction. A pair of pouch batteries 21C holding one heat transfer plate 23C is disposed between the adjacent frames 24C. An opening is formed at the center of each frame 24C. As a result, the pair of frame bodies 24C hold the sealing portion 28C while avoiding the housing portion 29C of the exterior body 22C. The heat transfer plate 23C is in contact with the housing portion 29C of the pair of pouch batteries 21C. That is, each heat transfer plate 23C is in thermal contact with the corresponding pair of pouch batteries 21C.

  The fastening portion 25C includes a pair of end plates 26C and a pair of restraint members 27C. The pair of end plates 26C is disposed at each end in the stacking direction of the battery stack 20C. Each restraint member 27C is fixed to a pair of end plates 26C. The restraint member 27C of the battery assembly 2 of FIG. 5 is formed of a metal plate. Each heat transfer plate 23C is formed in an L-shaped cross section so as to thermally contact one of the restraint members 27C.

  According to the above-described configuration, one restraining member 27 </ b> C is located on the cooling surface of the battery assembly 2. As described above, the heat of the plurality of pouch batteries 21C is transmitted to the restraint member 27C via the heat transfer plates 23C. Therefore, the heat exchange between the battery pack 2 and the cooling device 3 performed on the cooling surface of the battery pack 2 can cool each battery cell.

  Next, a cooling device according to an aspect of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 7 and 8. The cooling device 3 of FIG. 7 includes a first plate 30, a second plate 31, and a seal portion 40. The first plate 30 is a metal plate for mounting the assembled battery 2. The battery assembly 2 may be fixed to the first plate 30. As means for fixing, there are screwing members such as bolts and nuts. The first plate 30 has a mounting surface on which the assembled battery 2 is mounted, and a flow path forming surface opposite to the mounting surface. The first plate 30 has a side wall 33 and a partition wall 34 provided on the flow path forming surface side. The side wall 33 is provided along the outer periphery of the first plate 30. The side wall 33 is formed with a through hole for inserting a fixing bolt. The dividing wall 34 is provided at the center of the first plate 30 so as to define a space surrounded by the side wall 33.

  The second plate 31 is located on the flow path forming surface side of the first plate 30, and is fixed to the first plate 30 via a bolt inserted through the through hole of the side wall 33. A gasket 38 is disposed between the side wall 33 and the second plate 31, and a flow passage 32 is formed between the first plate 30 and the second plate 31. The partition wall 34 divides the flow passage 32 so that the refrigerant is spread over the entire first plate 30, and the flow passage 32 communicates with the inflow port 36 a, and the flow passage communicates with the outflow port 37. It is divided into the side flow path 32b. According to this configuration, the inflow side flow passage 32 a and the outflow side flow passage 32 b are adjacent to each other via the partition wall 34.

A gap is formed between the partition wall 34 and the second plate 31, and the gap is closed by the seal portion 40 provided along the partition wall 34. The seal portion 40 is disposed on the inflow side flow passage 32 a side with respect to the partition wall 34. The seal portion 40 is formed so that the dimension of the seal portion 40 is larger than the dimension of the gap between the partition wall 34 and the second plate 31 in the vertical direction.

  As described above, the dividing wall 34 divides the inflow side flow passage 32a and the outflow side flow passage 32b, but due to the influence of pressure loss, the water pressure in the inflow side flow passage 32a is the outflow side flow passage It is higher than the water pressure of 32b. Therefore, it can be expected that an external force acts on the seal portion 40 so as to be biased toward the outflow side flow passage 32b. In the case of the configuration that utilizes the biasing force resulting from such a pressure difference, there is a feature that it is difficult to be affected by the change in the adhesion between the first plate 30 and the second plate 31. For example, when the second plate 31 is deformed, there is a possibility that the gap between the second plate 31 and the partition wall 34 may expand, but according to the above-described configuration, the seal is used unless the size of the gap is larger than the dimension of the seal portion. Since the portion 40 is pressed toward the partition wall 34, the seal portion 40 can close the gap between the second plate 31 and the partition wall 34.

  As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the seal portion 40 has a triangular cross section, and has a first slope 41 facing the inflow side flow passage 32 a. The first inclined surface 41 is inclined with respect to the extending direction of the second plate so that the upper end of the first inclined surface 41 is located outside the lower end. As shown in FIG. 8, a hydraulic load F is applied to the seal portion 40 having the first slope 41 in the normal direction of the first slope 41. The hydraulic load F is an external force applied in the normal direction of the first slope 41, and has a correlation with the magnitude of the hydraulic pressure. The external force applied to the first slope 41 can be decomposed into a component f1 in the vertical direction and a component f2 in the horizontal direction.

  As described above, the hydraulic load F is applied to the first slope 41 of the seal portion 40 by the pressure of the refrigerant flowing through the flow path 32, and as a result, the seal portion 40 is biased toward the partition wall 34 Along with the vertical direction. When the second plate 31 is deformed, the gap between the second plate 31 and the partition wall 34 may be expanded. However, according to the above-described configuration, the seal portion 40 is pressed toward the partition wall 34 and the second Since it is pressed toward the plate 31, the floating of the seal portion 40 can be prevented. Thus, even if the gap between the second plate 31 and the partition wall 34 is expanded, the gap between the partition wall 34 and the second plate 31 can be closed stably. In particular, since the first slope 41 is configured to be biased in the vertical direction by water pressure, the second plate 31 and the second plate 31 are not directly pressed in the vertical direction. It is characterized in that the gap between the partition walls 34 can be closed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the seal portion 40 may be configured to have a second inclined surface 42 facing the outflow side flow passage 32 b. By having the second inclined surface 42, the seal portion 40 is pressed toward the second plate 31 from both sides, which makes it easy to maintain a stable posture. In particular, by making the slope of the first slope 41 and the slope of the second slope 42 substantially the same, further effects can be expected.

  Further, the first plate 30 may be configured to have a guide wall 35 provided along the partition wall 34. The guide wall 35 is erected to form a gap between the partition walls 34 so that the seal portion 40 can be disposed in the gap between the partition walls 34. According to this configuration, when the cooling device 3 is assembled, the seal portion 40 can be positioned between the guide wall 35 and the partition wall 34, and the workability can be improved.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the shape of the partition wall 34 may be formed to match the second slope 42 of the seal portion 40. According to this configuration, the surface where the seal portion 40 and the partition wall 34 are in close contact can be enlarged, so that the leakage from between the seal portion 40 and the partition wall 34 can be stably prevented.

As shown in FIG. 10, the seal portion 40 may be configured to be held by the first plate 30 and the second plate 31. According to this configuration, the seal portion 40 is held by the first plate 30 and the second plate 31 in addition to the biasing force utilizing the water pressure difference between the inflow side flow passage 32a and the outflow side flow passage 32b. The portion 40 is in close contact with the first plate 30 and the second plate 31, and the leakage from between the seal portion 40 and the partition wall 34 can be stably prevented.

  FIG. 11 is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the cooling device 3 of the modification of this invention. The seal portion 40 of FIG. 11 includes a seal main body portion 43 and a guide portion 44, and the seal main body portion 43 and the guide portion 44 are connected via a connection portion 45. The seal main body 43 is located on the inflow side flow passage 32 a side with respect to the partition wall 34, and has a first slope 41. The guide portion 44 is located on the outflow side flow passage 32 b side with respect to the partition wall 34. The height of the guide portion 44 is larger than the gap between the partition wall 34 and the second plate 31. In addition, a groove is formed between the seal main body 43 and the partition wall 34 in alignment. According to this configuration, when the cooling device 3 is assembled, the seal wall 40 can be positioned by inserting the partition wall 34 in the groove between the seal main body 43 and the guide 44, and the workability can be improved. be able to.

  The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are exemplifications, and that various modifications can be made to the combination of the respective constituent elements and the respective processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. It is about to be

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 power supply device, 2 assembled batteries, 3 cooling devices, 20A battery laminated body, 21A square battery, 22A exterior body, 24A insulating spacer, 25A fastening part, 26A end plate, 27A restraint member, 21B cylindrical battery, 22B exterior body, 23B holder, 24B connection, 25B
Conductive plate, 26B bus bar holder, 27B cover plate, 20C battery laminate, 21C pouch battery, 22C outer package, 23C heat transfer plate, 24C frame, 25C fastening part, 26C end plate, 27C binding member, 28C sealing part, 29C accommodation part, 30 first plate, 31 second plate, 32 channel, 32a inlet side channel, 32b outlet side channel, 33 side wall, 34 partition wall, 35 guide wall, 36 inlet, 37 outlet, 38 Gasket, 40 seal part, 41 first slope, 42 second slope, 43 seal main body part, 44 guide part, 45 connection part

Claims (8)

A first plate having a partition wall projecting from one side;
A second plate located on one side of the first plate and fixed to the first plate;
A flow path formed between the first plate and the second plate, the flow path including an inflow side flow path connected to the inflow port, and an outflow side flow path connected to the outflow port; An inflow side flow passage and the outflow side flow passage adjacent to each other via the partition wall;
It is a seal part which closes the crevice between the section wall and the 2nd plate, and has the 1st slope which faces the inflow side channel, and the upper end of the 1st slope is lower than the lower end. And a seal portion in which the first inclined surface is inclined with respect to the extending direction of the second plate so as to be located on the outflow side flow passage side . In the cooling device according to claim 1,
The cooling device is characterized in that the partition wall is located on the outflow side flow passage side with respect to the seal portion. In the cooling device according to claim 2,
A cooling device characterized in that the dimension of the seal portion is larger than the dimension of the gap between the partition wall and the second plate in the normal direction of the second plate. The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The seal portion has a second slope facing the outflow side channel,
The cooling device is characterized in that the second inclined surface is inclined with respect to the extending direction of the second plate such that the upper end is positioned closer to the inflow side flow passage than the lower end. In the cooling device according to claim 4,
The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing portion has substantially the same inclination of the first slope and the second slope. In the cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The first plate is provided with a positioning wall,
The said sealing part is arrange | positioned between the said wall part and the said partition wall, The cooling device characterized by the above-mentioned. The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Furthermore, the cooling device is characterized by further including a positioning guide portion connected to the seal portion, and the seal portion is disposed such that the partition wall is positioned between the seal portion and the guide portion. . A power supply device comprising the cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and at least one battery cooled by the cooling device.
The at least one battery is disposed on the top surface of the first plate.

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