KR101431550B1 - Apparatus for cooling battery and method of producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery cooling apparatus and a method for manufacturing a battery cooling apparatus are disclosed. The disclosed battery cooling apparatus has a plurality of cooling water flow paths formed therein by a plurality of partition walls connecting the top plate and the bottom plate, and at least one end of each of the body cooling units has a cavity portion in which the plurality of partition walls are removed, ; And an end plate which is inserted into the cavity and into which a confluence space for joining two or more cooling water flow paths of the plurality of cooling water flow paths is formed. According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of a battery cooling device used as a power source of an electric vehicle and to cool the battery more efficiently.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a battery cooling apparatus,

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a battery cooling apparatus and a method of manufacturing a battery cooling apparatus, and more particularly, to a battery cooling apparatus and a battery cooling apparatus that can reduce the manufacturing cost of a battery cooling apparatus used as a power source of an electric vehicle, Cooled battery cooling apparatus and a method of manufacturing the battery cooling apparatus.

 In recent years, interest in environmental protection has attracted attention as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles that use electricity as a power source in place of existing fossil fuel-based vehicles.

Such electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "electric vehicles") are equipped with secondary batteries for storing and using electric power, and large-capacity secondary batteries are required due to the characteristics of electric vehicles that can not be frequently charged.

Generally, a secondary battery generates a large amount of heat during charging and discharging. Particularly, in the case of a large-capacity secondary battery, when the amount of current is increased during charging and discharging, it entails more heat, and if the generated heat is not sufficiently removed, the performance of the battery deteriorates, Also.

In order to maintain and improve the performance of the battery, it is necessary to cool the battery. In the conventional battery cooling device, the air cooling type is mainly used.

However, in the case of the air-cooling type, depending on the installation position of the cooling fan, there is structurally a problem that the air heated at the inlet flows backward and the battery can not be uniformly cooled. In order to use the air with low thermal conductivity, There is a limit.

Therefore, in recent years, water cooling type cooling system has been studied to overcome the limit of air cooling type.

The water-cooled battery cooling device generally comprises a heat exchanging part in which a cooling water flow path is formed, a heat exchanging part in contact with the battery, and a port part for allowing the cooling water to flow in and out. A manufacturing method of the battery cooling device for this purpose is a casting or forging there was.

That is, conventionally, a cooling water channel is formed on one side by casting or forging, a plate having the shape of the heat exchanging portion and the port portion is integrally manufactured, and then the battery cooling device can be manufactured in such a manner that they are stuck together.

However, this method is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost due to the characteristics of casting or forging, and there is a possibility that the battery cooling device may be broken due to the spread of the plates stuck together by the internal pressure of the cooling water.

In addition, if the design of the cooling water flow path and the shape of the port portion are to be changed in order to increase the cooling efficiency, all of the manufacturing apparatuses of the battery cooling apparatus must be changed accordingly, so that it is difficult to change the designed manufacturing apparatus once, exist.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, the present invention proposes a water-cooled battery cooling device capable of reducing the manufacturing cost of a battery cooling device used as a power source of an electric vehicle and cooling the battery more efficiently do.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following examples.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of cooling water flow paths are formed inside by a plurality of partition walls connecting an upper plate and a lower plate, and at least one end of the plurality A body portion in which a cavity is formed in which a partition wall is removed; And an end plate which is inserted into the cavity and into which a confluence space for joining two or more cooling water flow paths of the plurality of cooling water flow paths is formed.

The end plate is formed in a size corresponding to the cavity portion, the upper surface of the end plate is in contact with the lower surface of the upper plate forming the cavity portion, and the lower surface of the end plate forms the cavity portion The lower surface of the lower plate.

The end plate includes a first end plate inserted and coupled to a first cavity formed at one end of the body, And a second end plate inserted into the second cavity formed at the other end of the body.

Wherein the second end plate includes: a first confluence space for joining two or more cooling water flow paths of the plurality of cooling water flow paths; And a second confluence space for joining the remaining cooling water flow channels except the two or more cooling water flow channels.

The body may be formed by an extrusion process, and the cavity may be formed by cutting an end of each of the plurality of partition walls.

The end plate may be formed by a pressing process and the confluence space may be formed at one side of the end plate.

The body portion and the end plate inserted into the cavity portion may be joined to each other by brazing or welding.

And an outflow inlet for introducing the cooling water into the plurality of cooling water flow paths or allowing the cooling water to flow out from the plurality of cooling water flow paths.

And a hole for coupling the outflow inlet may be formed in the upper plate connected to the confluence space forming the cavity.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a refrigerator, comprising the steps of: extruding a body portion having a plurality of cooling water flow paths formed therein by a plurality of partition walls connecting an upper plate and a lower plate; Removing end portions of each of the plurality of partition walls to form a cavity at at least one end of both ends of the body portion; And inserting an end plate into the cavity, the end plate having a size corresponding to the cavity and having a confluence space for joining two or more cooling water flow paths of the plurality of cooling water flow paths, the method comprising the steps of: .

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a battery cooling apparatus manufactured by the battery cooling apparatus manufacturing method.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of a battery cooling device used as a power source of an electric vehicle and to cool the battery more efficiently.

1 is a perspective view of a battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of a battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A is a side view of a battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3B is a view showing a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3A.
4A is an exploded side view of a battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4A.
FIG. 5A is a view showing a shape of a body portion formed by an extrusion process before processing according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
Fig. 5B is a front view of Fig. 5A. Fig.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in detail according to the flow of time.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied to equipment for cooling battery without limitation.

Particularly, since the battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can be easily used for cooling a battery used as a power source of an electric vehicle, the following description will focus on an example in which a battery cooling apparatus is applied to a battery of an electric vehicle .

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view.

FIG. 3A is a side view of a battery cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3A. 4 shows an exploded view of Fig.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the battery cooling apparatus 100 includes a cooling water flow path 116 formed therein. The battery cooling apparatus 100 includes a cooling water flow path 116, Absorbed.

That is, when heat is generated in the battery, the battery cooling apparatus 100, which is in contact with the battery (not shown) on one side, absorbs heat, and the absorbed heat is absorbed by the cooling water flowing along the cooling water flow path 116 And finally the battery is cooled.

Therefore, as the cooling water flowing along the cooling water flow path 116 efficiently absorbs heat, the cooling efficiency of the battery increases. Therefore, the cooling water flow path 116 and the confluence space 122 according to the embodiment of the present invention can achieve the optimal cooling efficiency As shown in Fig.

Meanwhile, a battery (not shown) is used as a power source of an electric vehicle, and may be a large-capacity secondary battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are combined.

The battery cooling apparatus 100 may be made of a material having excellent thermal conductivity such as aluminum alloy or copper so as to efficiently absorb heat generated from the battery.

The battery cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body 110, end plates 120a and 120b, and an outflow inlet 130. [

First, the body 110 contacts with a battery (not shown) to absorb heat generated when the battery is charged. At this time, the body 110 may be in direct contact with the battery or indirectly in contact with the battery to absorb heat.

More specifically, the body 110 has a plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 formed therein by a plurality of partition walls 114 connecting the upper and lower plates 111 and 112 to each other.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the body 110 may be formed by an extrusion process.

Extrusion is a metal processing method for manufacturing long rods or tubes having uniform cross sections, and has an advantage that the manufacturing cost is lower than other processing methods and can be cut and used as needed.

That is, in the case where the body 110 is manufactured by the extrusion method, manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with forging in which a metal material is kneaded or pressed with a hammer or the like by a mechanical method, And may be formed in various lengths. That is, the body 110 may have excellent length variability in the longitudinal direction.

The end plates 120a and 120b are inserted into one longitudinal end portion of the body 110 and include confluence spaces 122a and 122b for joining two or more cooling water flow paths among the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 .

That is, the end plates 120a and 120b may be formed of a plate that closes both ends of the body 110, so that cooling water may flow into the battery cooling apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, And spaces (122a, 122b) for joining the plurality of cooling water flow paths (116) together.

The joining spaces 122a and 122b may correspond to joining or sorting from the viewpoint of the cooling water flowing along the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116. However, since the cooling water may be introduced in any direction, For convenience, describe as a confluence space.

The outflow inlet 130 introduces the cooling water into the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 of the body 110 or causes the cooling water to flow out of the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116.

At this time, it is preferable that the outflow inlet 130 is formed to be connected to the confluence spaces 122a and 122b so that the cooling water may flow into or out of the confluence spaces 122a and 122b of the end plates 120a and 120b.

As a result, the cooling water can flow into the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 fluidically and flow out of the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 easily.

Therefore, the holes 119 for engagement of the outflow inlet 130 can be formed adjacent to the confluence spaces 122a and 122b of the end plates 120a and 120b.

As described below, the end plates 120a and 120b are inserted into the cavities 118a and 118b of the body 110, so that the cavity 119 forms cavities 118a and 118b 122a and 122b in the upper plate 111 having the same shape.

Hereinafter, the structure of the body 110 and the end plate 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

The upper plate 111 and the lower plate 112 of the body 110 may be disposed in the longitudinal direction of the body 110 in a direction crossing the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 And is formed to be longer than the plurality of partition walls 114 by a predetermined length so as to form the cavities 118a and 118b.

The end plates 120a and 120b are inserted into the cavity portions 118a and 118b of the body 110 and are coupled to each other.

That is, the end plates 120a and 120b are inserted into the cavities 118a and 118b formed by the upper plate 111 and the lower plate 112. To this end, the end plates 120a and 120b are inserted into the cavities 118a, 118b, respectively.

The upper surfaces of the end plates 120a and 120b are in contact with the lower surface of the upper plate 111 formed by a predetermined length and the lower surfaces of the end plates 120a and 120b are connected to the lower plate 112). ≪ / RTI >

Such a structure simplifies the structure of the end plates 120a and 120b that join the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 and close both ends of the body 110, thereby simplifying the entire manufacturing process of the battery cooling apparatus 100 And it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost and facilitate the application of the cooling water flow path and the confluence space designed in various ways to the battery cooling apparatus 100 in order to improve the cooling efficiency.

For example, the end plates 120a and 120b according to one embodiment of the present invention may be integrally formed by a pressing process, and the end plates 120a and 120b may be integrally formed by a pressing process, (118a, 118b) to join the plate and the plurality of cooling water flow paths (116).

The predetermined length corresponds to the length in the longitudinal direction of the end plates 120a and 120b inserted into the cavities 118a and 118b as described below. 118a, 118b and the end plates 120a, 120b can be brought into contact with a sufficient area.

It is preferable that the predetermined length is formed to have a sufficient length so that the cooling water passing through the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 joins through the confluence spaces 122a and 122b of the end plates 120a and 120b and can rotate properly.

For this structure, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the ends of each of the plurality of partition walls 114 forming the one ends of the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 in the body 110 formed by the extrusion process are fixed to predetermined As shown in FIG.

FIG. 5A is a view showing a shape of a body 110 formed by an extrusion process before machining according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a front view of FIG. 5A.

5, the body 110 has a plurality of cooling water passages 116 formed by a plurality of partition walls 114 connecting the upper plate 111 and the lower plate 112 by an extrusion process, As shown in FIG.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the cavity portions 118a and 118b are formed so as to cross the plurality of cooling water flow passages 116 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the body portion 110, Both ends of the plurality of partition walls 114 forming one ends of the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116 can be removed by a predetermined length.

The removal may be performed by cutting the body 110 made of a thermally conductive material such as aluminum alloy, copper, or the like.

As the body 110 is formed by the extrusion process, the plurality of partition walls 114 have the same length. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ends of the plurality of partition walls 114 are different from each other It can be removed by a predetermined length.

That is, the end portions of the plurality of partition walls 114 on the side of the edge are removed to a predetermined length, the longer the center length than the predetermined length, and then the predetermined length can be removed from the opposite end.

Accordingly, the plurality of partition walls 114 are gradually shortened toward the center in the direction transverse to the body 110, and then become longer. Such a structure is formed by passing through the plurality of cooling water flow paths 116, It is possible to smoothly flow the cooling water that flows back and forth together to improve the cooling efficiency of the battery cooling apparatus 100.

The end plates 120a and 120b inserted into the body part 110 and the hollow parts 118a and 118b of the body part 110 and the outflow inlet 130 inserted into the holes 119 of the upper plate 111, Can finally be joined together in a brazing or weld joint manner.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a battery cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in detail according to the flow of time.

6, a method of manufacturing a battery cooling apparatus includes a step S610 of extruding a body portion, a step S620 of forming a hollow portion at at least one end of the body portion, a step S630 of inserting an end plate, (S640). ≪ / RTI >

First, in step S610, a plurality of cooling-water passages formed by a plurality of partition walls are extruded from the body portion formed therein.

The body part directly or indirectly contacts the battery and absorbs heat generated when the battery is charged. When the battery is formed by an extrusion process, the body part is advantageous in that the manufacturing cost is reduced and the length is variable.

Next, in step S620, the ends of each of the plurality of partition walls, which form one end portion, are removed so as to form a hollow portion across the one ends of the plurality of cooling water flow paths of the body portion.

In order to remove it, various methods that are easy to cut a body portion made of a thermally conductive material such as aluminum alloy or copper can be applied.

The upper plate and the lower plate of the body portion formed in step S610 may be formed to be longer than the plurality of partition walls by a predetermined length by the step S620 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the predetermined length corresponds to the length in the longitudinal direction of the end plate inserted into the cavity, and is preferably formed to a sufficient length in consideration of the design of the cooling water pressure and the smooth flow of the cooling water.

When a plurality of partition wall end portions on the edge side are removed by a predetermined length, they can be removed longer than the predetermined length and then removed only by the predetermined length from the opposite edge, The cooling water flows more smoothly and the cooling efficiency is increased.

Subsequently, in step S630, an end plate having a size corresponding to the cavity formed in step S620 and having a confluence space for joining two or more of the plurality of cooling water flow paths is inserted into the cavity.

For this, an end plate having a confluence space formed at one side in a step (not shown) according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed by a pressing process, and an end plate formed in a step (not shown) ≪ / RTI >

As described above, the structure in which the end plate is inserted and coupled to the cavity is not only a function of joining a plurality of cooling water flow paths, but also simplifies the structure of the end plate for closing both ends of the body, And the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the cooling water flow path and the confluence space, which are designed in various ways, can be easily applied to the battery cooling device for improving the cooling efficiency.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a step (not shown) may be further included to form a hole for introducing cooling water into the plurality of cooling water flow paths or for coupling the outflow inlet for discharging cooling water from the plurality of cooling water flow paths have.

In the step of forming the holes (not shown), a hole may be formed in a part of the upper plate forming the cavity so as to allow the cooling water to flow smoothly through the inlet pipe.

Finally, in step S640, the inlet and outlet openings inserted into the body, the end plate inserted into the cavity of the body, and the top plate can be joined together by brazing or welding. However, it is not limited thereto, and it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various methods for proper bonding of the components can be applied.

The embodiments of the method for manufacturing the battery cooling apparatus according to the present invention have been described and the constitution relating to the battery cooling apparatus 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 can be applied to this embodiment as it is. Hereinafter, a detailed description will be omitted.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific elements, and specific embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- And various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

100: battery cooling device 110: body part
111: top plate 112: bottom plate
114: a plurality of partition walls 116: a plurality of cooling water flow paths
118: Cavity 119: Hole
120: end plate 122: confluence space
130: Outflow admission

Claims (16)

A body having a plurality of cooling water flow paths formed therein by a plurality of partition walls connecting the upper plate and the lower plate, and a cavity portion in which the plurality of partition walls are removed from at least one end portion of the body portion; And
An end plate inserted into the cavity and formed with a confluence space for joining two or more cooling water flow paths of the plurality of cooling water flow paths;
Wherein the battery cooling device comprises: The method according to claim 1,
The end plate is formed to have a size corresponding to the cavity portion,
The upper surface of the end plate being in contact with the lower surface of the upper plate forming the cavity,
Wherein the lower surface of the end plate is in contact with the upper surface of the lower plate forming the cavity. The method according to claim 1,
The end plate includes a first end plate inserted and coupled to a first cavity formed at one end of the body, And
And a second end plate inserted into the second cavity formed at the other end of the body. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the second end plate includes: a first confluence space for joining two or more cooling water flow paths of the plurality of cooling water flow paths; And
And a second confluence space for confluencing the remaining coolant flow channels except the two or more coolant flow channels. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the body is formed by an extrusion process and the cavity is formed by cutting an end of each of the plurality of partition walls. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the end plate is formed by a pressing process, and the confluence space is formed at one side of the end plate. The method according to claim 1,
And the end plate inserted into the body and the cavity are joined by brazing or welding. The method according to claim 1,
And an outflow inlet for introducing the cooling water into the plurality of cooling water flow paths or allowing the cooling water to flow out from the plurality of cooling water flow paths. 9. The method of claim 8,
And a hole for coupling the outflow inlet is formed in the upper plate forming the cavity so as to be connected to the confluence space. Extruding a body portion having a plurality of cooling water flow paths formed therein by a plurality of partition walls connecting the upper plate and the lower plate;
Removing end portions of each of the plurality of partition walls to form a cavity at at least one end of both ends of the body portion; And
Inserting an end plate into the cavity, the end plate having a size corresponding to the cavity and having a confluence space for joining two or more of the plurality of coolant channels;
Wherein the battery cooling device comprises: 11. The method of claim 10,
The upper surface of the end plate being in contact with the lower surface of the upper plate forming the cavity,
Wherein the lower surface of the end plate is in contact with the upper surface of the lower plate forming the cavity. 11. The method of claim 10,
The end plate includes a first end plate inserted and coupled to a first cavity formed at one end of the body, And
And a second end plate inserted into the second cavity formed at the other end of the body. 11. The method of claim 10,
Forming a hole in the upper plate constituting the hollow portion for coupling cooling water into the plurality of cooling water flow paths or an outflow inlet for allowing the cooling water to flow out from the plurality of cooling water flow paths;
Further comprising the steps of: 11. The method of claim 10,
And forming the end plate by a pressing process. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 11. < / RTI > 11. The method of claim 10,
And brazing or welding the end plate inserted into the body and the cavity. The battery cooling apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 15, which is manufactured by the method for manufacturing a battery cooling apparatus.

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