JPH09232007A - Cooling device for vehicle battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and effectively cool a battery in accordance with the change of an environmental condition, by actuating specific first - third cooling means based on each temperature of a battery, outside, and a compartment. SOLUTION: Set temperature, for commencing cooling a battery 81, is read to detect each temperature of a battery, outside, and a compartment from temperature sensors 41-43; and when the battery temperature is lower than the set temperature, first - third opening/closing doors 12, 13, and 14 are closed. When the battery temperature is higher than the set temperature, whether the outside temperature is lower or not than the battery temperature is judged, and when right, the door 12 is opened to actuate a first cooling means 11, to flow cooling water between the periphery part of a battery 81 and the outside of a vehicle, thereby naturally cooling the battery 81. When wrong, the door 22 is opened to actuate a second cooling means 21, to ventilate the battery 81 periphery, thereby cooling the battery 81. When the outside temperature exceeds the temperature of the battery 81, whether the compartment temperature is lower than the battery temperature or not is checked; and when right, the door 34 is opened to actuate a third cooling means 30, to introduce cool air in the compartment, thereby cooling the battery 81.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery cooling device mounted on a vehicle having an air conditioner, which can cool the battery efficiently and effectively in response to changes in environmental conditions. The present invention relates to a battery cooling device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A battery generates heat during both charging and discharging, and when the temperature exceeds a certain level, the performance of the battery deteriorates and the life of the battery also decreases. Therefore, in an electric vehicle driven by a battery, efficient cooling of the battery is an important issue. Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 169981 discloses a method of cooling the battery by taking in outside air when the vehicle is running.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, there is also known a method of operating the blower fan 91 to take in outside air into the battery storage chamber 80 as indicated by an arrow 85 and forcibly cooling the battery 81. There is. Further, JP-A-5-344606 proposes a method of arranging a battery storage chamber in a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioner.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved] However, the first method of taking in the outside air naturally while the vehicle is running has the advantage that it consumes less energy, but the battery cannot be cooled while the vehicle is stopped, and the outside air temperature is low. There is a problem that the cooling effect fluctuates depending on the driving speed. On the other hand, the third method using the cool air of the air conditioner has a problem that it consumes a large amount of energy although the cooling capacity is large, and the battery is overcooled more than necessary in some cases.

The blower fan 91 shown in FIGS.
The second method using the method is positioned in the middle of the both methods, and has both advantages and disadvantages. The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle battery cooling device capable of efficiently and effectively cooling a battery in response to changes in environmental conditions. It is a thing.

[0006]

The present invention relates to a battery cooling device mounted on a vehicle, which comprises first cooling means for allowing the peripheral portion of the battery and the outside of the vehicle to communicate with each other and allowing the battery to naturally cool by air. A second cooling unit that blows air around the battery by a blower, a third cooling unit that blows cold air of the vehicle air conditioner around the battery, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the battery or the periphery of the battery, and the outside air. An outside air temperature sensor that detects the temperature of
And a control means for operating the first to third cooling means on the basis of detection signals of the temperature sensors and driving information of the vehicle. The control means selects one of the first to third cooling means based on the temperature information from each temperature sensor, and the first
A second cooling means is operated when the cooling of the battery by the cooling means is insufficient, and a third cooling means is operated when the cooling of the battery by the second cooling means is insufficient. Located in the battery cooling system.

The most remarkable thing in the present invention is that
It has three cooling means of the 1st-3rd and three temperature sensors, and the control means selects the 1st-3rd cooling means based on the temperature information and operation information from each temperature sensor. At the same time, the second cooling means is operated when the cooling of the battery by the first cooling means is insufficient, and the third cooling means is operated when the cooling of the battery by the second cooling means is insufficient.

The first cooling means for allowing the peripheral portion of the battery and the outside of the vehicle to communicate with each other by natural air cooling is the cheapest cooling means, but the cooling capacity depends on the outside air temperature, the traveling speed and the like. On the other hand, since the second cooling means uses a blower, the cooling cost is higher than that of the first cooling means, but there is a degree of freedom to increase or change the cooling capacity. The third cooling means has the feature of having the largest cooling cost but the largest cooling capacity.

On the other hand, in the cooling device according to the present invention, the control means selects an appropriate cooling means based on the information obtained from the temperature sensor. For example, based on the information from the battery temperature sensor and the outside air temperature sensor, when the outside air temperature is lower than the temperature around the battery, the outside air is introduced,
When the temperature of the outside air is higher than the temperature of the battery, effective control such as activating the third cooling means immediately without activating the first and second cooling means for introducing the outside air can be promptly executed. .

Further, while the vehicle is traveling, effective control such as operating the first cooling means without operating the second cooling means can be promptly executed. When the cooling of the battery by the first cooling means is insufficient, the blower is strengthened to activate the second cooling means, and when the cooling of the battery by the second cooling means is insufficient, the third cooling means is activated. Therefore, the cheapest cooling means can be used depending on the situation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above structure, an opening is provided on the floor of the battery chamber, and the opening is rotated about a horizontal rotation axis perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. A movable opening / closing plate is provided, and the control means further includes a closed state in which the opening / closing plate is horizontal and the opening is closed, a first opening state in which the front side of the opening / closing plate is lowered, or a front side of the opening / closing plate is raised. When the opening / closing plate is operable in the second opening state, the opening / closing plate is operated in the closed state when the third cooling means is operated, and when the first or second cooling means is operated, It is preferable to operate the opening / closing plate in the first or second open state so that the air volume is further increased.

That is, when operating the third cooling means, the opening is closed (closed state) so that cold air does not escape.
When the first or second cooling means is operated, the first or second cooling means is operated so as to increase the air volume around the battery in accordance with the position of the intake port for the outside air and the arrangement of the air passage. Alternatively, the opening / closing plate is operated to the second opening state. For example, when the vehicle is running, when the vehicle is running, the front side of the opening / closing plate is tilted downward to open the opening (the first open state) so that the outside air flows in from here, (1) The cooling power of the cooling means can be further increased. Further, in the case of the operation of the second cooling means for operating the blower to take in the outside air, either the first or second opening state with smaller air resistance is selected.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present embodiment is a cooling device for a battery 81 mounted on a vehicle 8, in which a peripheral portion of the battery 81 is communicated with the outside of the vehicle, and the battery 81 is naturally connected. The first cooling means 11 for air cooling, the second cooling means 20 for blowing the air outside the vehicle to the periphery of the battery 81 by the blower 21, and the third cooling means 20 for blowing the cold air of the air conditioner of the vehicle 8 to the periphery of the battery. Cooling means 30
And a temperature sensor 41 for detecting the temperature around the battery 81.
An outside air temperature sensor 42 for detecting the temperature of the outside air, a vehicle interior temperature sensor 43 for detecting the temperature of the vehicle interior, and first to third cooling based on the detection signals of the temperature sensors 41 to 43 and the driving information. It has a control means (not shown) for operating the means 11, 20, 30. The control means controls the first to third cooling means 11, 20, based on the temperature information from each of the temperature sensors 41 to 43 and the operating condition whether the vehicle is running or stopped.
When 30 is selected and the vehicle is stopped and the cooling of the battery 81 by the first cooling means 11 is insufficient, the second cooling means 20 is activated to increase the temperature of the outside air and the first and second cooling means 11 are operated. If the cooling of the battery 81 by the batteries 20, 20 is insufficient, the third cooling means 30 is activated.

As shown in FIG. 1, electrically driven first opening / closing doors 12 for operating the first cooling means 11 are attached to both sides of the front surface of the accommodation chamber 80 for the battery 81 located at the rear of the vehicle 8. Therefore, by opening the first opening / closing door 12, the accommodation chamber 80 is directly communicated with the outside air. In the figure, reference numeral 13
Is a wall plate for forming a flow path of outside air. Further, reference numeral 22 denotes an electrically driven second opening / closing door, which is the second cooling means 20.
The outside air is taken into the accommodation chamber 80 by rotating the blower 21 of FIG.
The blower 21 operates in conjunction with the opening operation of the second opening / closing door 22.

Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 31 and reference numeral 32
Is a heat exchanger and a blower fan of the passenger compartment air conditioner, and reference numeral 33 is a flow passage which constitutes a part of the cool air passage of the air conditioner. Reference numeral 34 is an electrically-operated third opening / closing door that connects the accommodation chamber 80 to the cold air flow passage 33. When the control means determines that the temperature of the battery 81 is low based on the output signal of the temperature sensor 41 and the battery 81 does not need to be cooled, all the open / close doors 12, 2
2, 34 are closed and the cooling means 11, 20, 30 are not activated.

When the battery 81 needs to be cooled, the temperature of the outside air measured by the outside air temperature sensor 42 is lower than the temperature of the battery 81, and the vehicle is running, the first opening / closing door 12 is opened. The outside air is taken in to cool the battery 81 (operation of the first cooling means 11). Further, when the battery 81 needs to be cooled, the temperature of the outside air measured by the outside air temperature sensor 42 is lower than the temperature of the battery 81, and the vehicle is stopped, the second opening / closing door 22 is opened and the blower 2 is opened.
1 is operated to take in outside air to cool the battery 81 (operation of the second cooling means 20).

When the temperature of the outside air is higher than the temperature of the battery 81 and the cooling effect of the outside air by the first and second cooling means 11 and 20 is low, the third opening / closing door 34 of the third cooling means 30 is used. Open and open the cool air cooled by the air conditioner to the battery 8
The battery 81 is cooled by taking it into the first accommodation chamber 80 (3rd
Operation of cooling means 30).

FIG. 3 shows a control flow of the apparatus 10, and the control flow will be described with reference to this figure. In step 601, the set temperature ST at which the cooling of the battery 81 is started is read, and the temperature sensors 41 to 43 detect the battery temperature DT, the outside air temperature GT, and the vehicle compartment temperature NT.

Next, at step 602, it is judged if the battery temperature DT is higher than the set temperature ST. If the answer is no, cooling of the battery 81 is not necessary, so the routine proceeds to step 630, where the first to third first opening / closing doors 12, 22, 34 are closed. If the result of step 602 is YES, then control is passed to step 603, and it is determined whether the outside air temperature GT is lower than the battery temperature DT. If the result is yes, the process proceeds to step 604, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling. If the result is yes, the process proceeds to step 605, the first opening / closing door 12 is opened, and the first
The cooling means 11 operates.

On the other hand, when the result of step 604 is negative, the routine proceeds to step 610, where the second opening / closing door 22 is opened and the blower 21 is operated to take in outside air. Then, when the result in step 603 is negative, that is, when the outside air temperature GT is equal to or higher than the temperature DT of the battery 81, the process proceeds to step 620, where the vehicle interior temperature NT is lower than the battery temperature DT. Check whether or not.

If the result of step 620 is yes, the third opening / closing door 34 is opened to operate the third cooling means 30 in step 621 to take in the cold air in the vehicle compartment, and the battery 8
Cool 1 If the result of step 620 is negative, the process returns to step 601 and waits until the vehicle compartment temperature NT becomes lower than the battery temperature DT. As described above,
According to this example, it is possible to obtain the vehicle battery cooling device 1 capable of efficiently and effectively cooling the battery 81 in response to changes in operating conditions and environmental conditions.

Second Embodiment As shown in FIG. 4, this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that an opening is provided in the floor surface 51 of the storage chamber 80 for the battery 81, and the opening is formed in the traveling direction of the vehicle. This is another embodiment example in which an opening / closing plate 52 rotatable about a vertical horizontal rotation shaft 521 is provided.

The control means is in a closed state in which the opening / closing plate 52 is horizontal and the opening is closed as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5, and a first opening state in which the front side of the opening / closing plate 52 is lowered as shown by the solid line in FIG. Alternatively, the opening / closing plate 52 can be operated in a third opening state (not shown) for raising the front side of the opening / closing plate 52. When the third cooling means 30 is operated, the opening / closing plate 52 is operated in the closed state so that the first or second cooling means 11,
When activating 20, the opening / closing plate 52 is operated so as to increase the air volume around the battery 81 in either the first or second open state.

That is, when the control means determines that the temperature of the battery 81 is low based on the output signal of the temperature sensor 41 and the battery 81 does not need to be cooled, all the doors 1
The openings 2, 22 and 34 are closed and the opening / closing plate 52 is horizontal to close the opening. Further, the battery 81 needs to be cooled and the temperature of the outside air based on the outside air temperature sensor 42 is
When the temperature is lower than 1 and the vehicle is running, the first opening / closing door 12 is opened to take in the outside air, and the opening / closing plate 52 is brought into the first opening state to take in the outside air.

When the battery 81 needs to be cooled, the temperature of the outside air measured by the outside air temperature sensor 42 is lower than the temperature of the battery 81, and the vehicle is stopped, the second opening / closing door 22 is opened. At the same time, the opening / closing plate 52 is set to the second opening state, and the outside air is discharged from the opening. Then, even when the cooling effect of the battery 81 by the first cooling means 11 is insufficient,
Similarly, the second opening / closing door 22 is opened, the blower 21 is operated, and the opening / closing plate 52 is brought into the second opening state.

When the temperature of the outside air is higher than the temperature of the battery 81 and the cooling effect of the outside air by the second cooling means 20 is low, the third opening / closing door 34 of the third cooling means 30 is opened to perform air conditioning. The cool air cooled by the device is introduced into the accommodation chamber 80 of the battery 81, and the opening / closing plate 52 is further horizontal to close the opening.

Next, in each step of FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, only the differences between the first embodiment and this embodiment will be described. In the case of this example, in step 605, the first first opening / closing door 12 is opened, the first cooling means 11 is operated, and the opening / closing plate 52 is brought into the first opening state to take in outside air from the opening. Also, in step 610,
The second opening / closing door 22 is opened to operate the blower 21, and the opening / closing plate 52 is set to the first opening state to release the outside air from the opening.

Then, in step 621, the third opening / closing door 3
4 is opened to operate the third cooling means 30 to take in cool air in the vehicle compartment and to close the open / close plate 52 to prevent the cool air from escaping, thereby cooling the battery 81. Others are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a vehicle battery cooling device capable of efficiently and effectively cooling a battery in response to changes in environmental conditions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a cooling device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of control according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a cooling device according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a mode of rocking operation of the opening / closing plate shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a conventional cooling device.

FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of reference numerals] . . First cooling means, 20. . . Second cooling means, 21. . . Blower, 30. . . Third cooling means, 41. . . Battery temperature sensor, 42. . . Outside air temperature sensor, 43. . . Passenger compartment temperature sensor, 81. . . battery,

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cooling device for a battery mounted on a vehicle, comprising: first cooling means for allowing the peripheral portion of the battery and the outside of the vehicle to communicate with each other to allow natural cooling of the battery; A second cooling unit that blows air to the surroundings, a third cooling unit that blows cold air from the vehicle air conditioner to the battery surroundings, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the battery or the battery surroundings, and a temperature of the outside air It has an outside air temperature sensor, a vehicle interior temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the vehicle interior, and a control means for operating the first to third cooling means based on the detection signals of the temperature sensors and the driving information of the vehicle. The above-mentioned control means, based on the temperature information from each temperature sensor,
When the third cooling means is selected and the battery is not sufficiently cooled by the first cooling means, the second cooling means is operated, and when the battery is not sufficiently cooled by the second cooling means, the third cooling means is operated. A cooling device for a vehicle battery, characterized by activating the means. 2. The opening according to claim 1, wherein an opening is provided on the floor of the battery chamber, and the opening is rotatable about a horizontal rotation axis perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. An opening / closing plate is provided, and the control means sets the opening / closing plate in a closed state to close the opening, a first opening state in which the front side of the opening / closing plate is inclined downward, or the front side of the opening / closing plate. The opening / closing plate can be operated in a second opening state in which it is tilted upward, and when operating the third cooling means, the opening / closing plate is operated in the closing state, and the first or second
A cooling device for a vehicle battery, characterized in that when the cooling means is operated, the opening / closing plate is operated in any one of the first and second open states so that the air volume around the battery is further increased.