JP7070507B2 - Battery pack - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to battery packs.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-62130 (hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 1") discloses a battery pack including a plurality of battery cells, a pair of end plates, a cooling plate, and a refrigerant passage. ing. A plurality of battery cells are arranged so as to be arranged in one direction. A pair of end plates are arranged on both sides of a plurality of battery cells in one direction. The cooling plate is located below the plurality of battery cells and is in thermal contact with the plurality of battery cells. The cooling passage is provided in the cooling plate. As the refrigerant flows through the cooling passage, each battery cell is cooled through the cooling plate.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-62130

There is room for improvement in the cooling efficiency of the battery pack described in Patent Document 1.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a battery pack capable of increasing the cooling efficiency of each cell.

A battery pack according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a cooling member arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the battery module and the battery module, and a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant for cooling the battery module flows. The cooling member having the The battery module is composed of a plurality of cells arranged so as to be arranged in one direction and a metal material so as to be in thermal contact with the plurality of cells. It has a pair of end plates arranged on both sides of the plurality of cells in one direction, the bracket is made of a metal material, and at least one end plate of the pair of end plates and the storage case. The introduction channel is in thermal contact with the bracket.

In this battery pack, since the introduction flow path and the bracket are in thermal contact with each other, the cold heat of the refrigerant flowing through the introduction flow path is transmitted to the end plate via the bracket. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the battery module is increased.

Further, the battery pack may be made of a metal material and may further include the pair of end plates and a restraining member for restraining the plurality of cells from both sides in the one direction. In this case, the cooling member has a shape extending along the one direction, is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the bottom surface of each of the plurality of cells, and is the restraining member. Has a shape extending from one end plate of the pair of end plates to the other end plate, and is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the upper surface of each of the cell cells. preferable.

In this way, the cold heat transmitted to the end plate via the bracket is transmitted to the upper part of each cell via the restraint member, so that each cell is effectively cooled from the lower part to the upper part.

Further, the accommodating case is arranged below the battery module and the cooling member, and has a lower case to which the bracket is fixed and an upper case having a shape that covers above the plurality of cells and the restraining member. , May have. In this case, it is preferable that the upper case is in thermal contact with the restraining member.

By doing so, the upper case is also effectively cooled, so that the heat transferred from above the upper case to the upper case (heat generated from the exhaust pipe or the like) is suppressed from being transferred to each cell.

As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a battery pack capable of increasing the cooling efficiency of each cell.

It is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the battery pack of one Embodiment of this disclosure. It is a perspective view which shows the vicinity of a bracket and an introduction flow path. It is sectional drawing in the plane orthogonal to the arrangement direction of a plurality of cell cells.

The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to below, the same or corresponding members are assigned the same number.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The battery pack 1 is mounted on the lower part of the vehicle (outside the vehicle interior), for example. The battery pack 1 of the present embodiment includes a battery module 10, a cooling member 20, an introduction flow path 30, a storage case 40, and a bracket 50.

The battery module 10 has a plurality of cell cells 12, a pair of end plates 14, and a restraining member 16.

The plurality of cell cells 12 are arranged so as to be arranged along one direction. The cells 12 adjacent to each other are in thermal contact with each other. That is, heat is transferred from one cell 12 to the cell 12 adjacent to the one cell 12. The plurality of cell cells 12 are electrically connected in series by a bus bar (not shown).

The pair of end plates 14 are made of a metallic material. For example, each end plate 14 is made of a steel plate. The pair of end plates 14 are arranged on both sides of the plurality of cells 12 in one direction so as to be in thermal contact with the plurality of cells 12. Specifically, one end plate 14 of the pair of end plates 14 is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the cell 12 arranged on one side in one direction of the plurality of cell cells 12. , The other end plate 14 of the pair of end plates 14 is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the cell 12 arranged on the other side in one direction of the plurality of cell cells 12. Therefore, heat is transferred from the end plate 14 to the cell 12 arranged at a position adjacent to the end plate 14. The end plate 14 and the cell 12 may be in direct contact with each other or may be in contact with each other via a heat transfer member.

The restraint member 16 is made of a metal material. The restraining member 16 restrains the pair of end plates 14 and the plurality of cell cells 12 from both sides in one direction. The restraint member 16 has a shape extending from the one end plate 14 to the other end plate 14. One end of the restraint member 16 is fixed to the one end plate 14, and the other end of the restraint member 16 is fixed to the other end plate 14. The restraint member 16 is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the upper surface 12a of each cell 12. The restraint member 16 may be arranged at a position close to the upper surface 12a of each cell 12 or may be arranged so as to be in direct contact with the upper surface 12a of each cell 12.

The cooling member 20 is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the battery module 10. The cooling member 20 has a shape extending along one direction (the direction in which the plurality of cells 12 are arranged). The cooling member 20 is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the lower surface 12b of each cell 12. The cooling member 20 has a refrigerant flow path 22 through which a refrigerant for cooling the battery module 10 flows. As the refrigerant flows in the refrigerant flow path 22, each unit cell 12 is cooled via the cooling member 20.

The introduction flow path 30 is a flow path for introducing the refrigerant into the refrigerant flow path 22. The introduction flow path 30 is composed of a portion of the circulation flow path (flow path through which the refrigerant circulates) constituting the refrigeration cycle on the downstream side of the expansion valve V.

The storage case 40 houses the battery module 10, the cooling member 20, and the introduction flow path 30. The storage case 40 has a lower case 42 and an upper case 44.

The lower case 42 is arranged below the battery module 10 and the cooling member 20. The lower case 42 is made of metal. For example, the lower case 42 is made of a steel plate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper case 44 has a shape that covers the upper part of the plurality of cell cells 12 and the restraining member 16. The upper case 44 is made of metal. For example, the upper case 44 is made of a steel plate. The upper case 44 is in thermal contact with the restraining member 16. Specifically, the upper case 44 is formed in a flat plate shape and is located close to the restraining member 16 so as to be in thermal contact with the main body portion 44a arranged above the battery module 10. It has a rib 44b and an arranged rib 44b. The rib 44b has a shape that projects downward from the lower surface of the main body portion 44a toward the restraining member 16.

The bracket 50 is a member for fixing the battery module 10 to the housing case 40. The bracket 50 is made of metal. For example, the bracket 50 is made of a steel plate. The bracket 50 is fixed to at least one end plate 14 and a storage case 40 of the pair of end plates 14. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the bracket 50 is fixed to the end plate 14 and the plate portion 42a forming a part of the lower case 42 by a fastening member 60 such as a bolt.

In this embodiment, the introduction flow path 30 is in thermal contact with the bracket 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the introduction flow path 30 has a thermal contact portion 32, and the thermal contact portion 32 is in thermal contact with the bracket 50. Specifically, the outer peripheral surface of the thermal contact portion 32 is in contact with the surface of the bracket 50. The thermal contact portion 32 is in thermal contact with the plate portion 42a. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the thermal contact portion 32 is in contact with the surface of the plate portion 42a. However, if the cold heat of the refrigerant flowing through the introduction flow path 30 is transmitted to the bracket 50 and the plate portion 42a, the thermal contact portion 32 may be arranged at a position close to the bracket 50 and the plate portion 42a.

As described above, in the battery pack 1 of the present embodiment, since the thermal contact portion 32 of the introduction flow path 30 and the bracket 50 are in thermal contact with each other, the cold heat of the refrigerant flowing through the introduction flow path 30 is generated. It is transmitted to the end plate 14 via the bracket 50. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the battery module 10 is increased.

Further, since the restraint member 16 is arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the upper surface 12a of each unit cell 12, the cold heat transmitted to the end plate 14 via the bracket 50 is transferred to each unit via the restraint member 16. It is transmitted to the upper part of the battery 12. Therefore, each cell 12 is effectively cooled from the lower part to the upper part.

Further, since the upper case 44 has a rib 44b that is in thermal contact with the restraining member 16, the upper case 44 is also effectively cooled. Therefore, the heat transferred from above the upper case 44 to the upper case 44 (heat generated from the exhaust pipe or the like) is suppressed from being transferred to each cell 12.

It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed this time are examples in all respects and should be considered not to be restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the scope of claims rather than the description of the embodiment described above, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

For example, the introduction flow path 30 may be fixed to the lower case 42 by a fixing bracket, and the fixing bracket may be in thermal contact with the bracket 50.

Further, the introduction flow path 30 may be arranged so as to be in contact with the end plate 14.

Further, the upper case 44 may be made of resin.

1 Battery pack, 10 Battery module, 12 Unit cell, 12a upper surface, 12b lower surface, 14 end plate, 16 restraint member, 20 cooling member, 22 refrigerant flow path, 30 introduction flow path, 32 thermal contact part, 40 storage case, 42 Lower case, 42a plate part, 44 upper case, 44a main body part, 44b rib, 50 bracket, 60 fastening member, V expansion valve.

Claims (1)

Battery module and
A cooling member arranged so as to be in thermal contact with the battery module, and having a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant for cooling the battery module flows.
An introduction flow path for introducing the refrigerant into the refrigerant flow path,
A storage case for accommodating the battery module, the cooling member, and the introduction flow path,
A bracket for fixing the battery module to the storage case is provided.
The battery module is
With multiple cells arranged side by side in one direction,
It comprises a pair of end plates, which are made of a metallic material and are arranged on both sides of the plurality of cells in one direction so as to be in thermal contact with the plurality of cells.
The bracket is made of a metallic material and is fixed to at least one end plate of the pair of end plates and the storage case.
The introduction channel is a battery pack that is in thermal contact with the bracket.

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