WO2025076967A1 - Power battery high-voltage distribution box, power battery, and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a power battery high-voltage distribution box, a power battery, and a vehicle. The power battery high-voltage distribution box (1000) comprises a housing (100) and an electrical unit (200) mounted in the housing (100). The electrical unit (200) comprises a copper bar assembly (210) and more than one temperature sensors (220). The temperature sensors (220) are located in an inner cavity of the housing (100), to monitor in real time and record the temperature of a key position in the inner cavity, and monitor, collect and report the temperature in real time. The copper bar assembly (210) is bent towards one side of the housing (100), such that some copper bars of the copper bar assembly (210) are exposed out of the housing (100), and the copper bars exposed out of the housing (100) can be in contact with an external cooling assembly for cooling.

Description

A power battery high voltage distribution box, a power battery and a vehicle

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202311297701.1, filed on October 9, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention belongs to the technical field of power distribution boxes, and in particular relates to a power battery high-voltage power distribution box, a power battery and a vehicle.

Background Art

With the rapid development of new energy vehicles, high-voltage platform power batteries have been developed and mature. The battery distribution box (BDU for short) is a unit for energy distribution and control of power batteries, and electrical components need to be integrated and arranged in the battery distribution box. Due to the limited space of the battery distribution box and the need to use large-volume electrical components with a rated voltage of 800 to 1000V, the heat dissipation and electrical safety of the distribution box need to be considered in the design.

The existing design of the power distribution box has limited space and defects in heat dissipation design. When the components or copper bars in the power distribution box are overheated, the power distribution box cannot cut off the circuit, which will cause circuit ablation or even fire, seriously affecting safety. Secondly, with the popularization of new energy vehicles, high-rate fast charging has become a trend, and the heat dissipation performance of the power distribution box needs to be improved urgently.

Summary of the invention

In order to solve the technical problem of low heat dissipation performance of the current distribution box, the present disclosure provides a power battery high-voltage distribution box, a power battery and a vehicle.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a power battery high-voltage distribution box is provided, which includes a shell and an electrical unit installed on the shell. The electrical unit includes a copper busbar assembly and one or more temperature sensors, the temperature sensors are located in the inner cavity of the shell, and the copper busbar assembly is bent toward one side of the shell so that part of the copper busbar assembly is exposed outside the shell.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a power battery is provided, which includes a frame, a battery assembly, a cooling assembly, a control unit, and a power battery high-voltage distribution box of the first aspect. The frame is provided with a battery cavity and a control cavity, the battery assembly is arranged in the battery cavity, and the control unit and the power battery high-voltage distribution box are both located in the control cavity. The copper busbar assembly is electrically connected to the battery assembly, and the temperature sensor is electrically connected to the control unit. The portion of the copper busbar assembly exposed to the shell is thermally connected to the cooling assembly.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided, comprising the power battery of the aforementioned second aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a power battery high voltage distribution box according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of an electrical unit in the power battery high voltage distribution box of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the electrical unit of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of a copper busbar assembly in the electrical unit of FIG. 3 .

FIG5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a copper busbar assembly of a power battery high-voltage distribution box according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG6 shows a circuit topology diagram of a power battery according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a structural block diagram of a power battery according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Description of reference numerals: 1000 - power battery high voltage distribution box. 100 - housing. 110 - upper housing. 120 - lower housing. 200-electrical unit; 210-copper bar assembly, 211-first copper bar, 212-second copper bar, 213-third copper bar, 214-fourth copper bar, 215-fifth copper bar, 216-sixth copper bar, 217-seventh copper bar, 218-eighth copper bar, 219a-battery positive electrode connection copper bar, 219b-battery negative electrode connection copper bar, 210a-avoidance area, 210b-parallel pin, 210c-body, 210d-connection part, 210e-through hole; 220-temperature sensor; 230-relay, 231-pre-charge relay, 232-main positive relay, 233-fast charge positive relay, 234-main negative relay, 235-fast charge negative relay; 240-current sensor; 250-fuse; 260-high voltage connector. 300-insulating thermal pad. 400-thermal runaway sensor. 500- low voltage interface. 600- control unit, 610- master control unit, 620- slave control unit. 700- frame. 800- battery assembly, 810- battery module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the technical personnel in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs more clearly understand the present disclosure, the technical scheme in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a power battery high voltage distribution box 1000 is provided, which can distribute the electric energy of the power battery and has a temperature monitoring function and good heat dissipation performance.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , a power battery high voltage distribution box 1000 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes a housing 100 and an electrical unit 200 installed in the housing 100. The electrical unit 200 includes a copper bar assembly 210 and one or more temperature sensors 220. The temperature sensors 220 are located in the inner cavity of the housing 100. One side of the copper bar assembly 210 is bent toward the housing 100 so that the copper bar assembly 210 The portion is exposed outside the housing 100 .

The housing 100 provides a mounting base for the electrical unit 200 , and the housing 100 can also be connected to the frame 700 of the power battery to fix the high-voltage distribution box, as shown in FIG. 7 .

The temperature sensor 220 is used to detect the temperature inside the high-voltage distribution box, monitor and record the temperature of key locations in real time, and monitor, collect and report the temperature in real time. The installation position of the temperature sensor 220 should be close to the copper busbar assembly. The specific installation position can be determined based on the high temperature point determined by simulation analysis and arranged at a location with higher temperature. The detection signal of the temperature sensor 220 is fed back to the controller (which can be the controller of the power battery or the vehicle controller), and the controller controls the power battery to reduce the charging and discharging power or power off according to the signal fed back by the temperature sensor 220.

The copper bar assembly 210 is used to carry current, so heat is generated during operation. The copper bar assembly 210 is bent toward one side of the housing 100 so that part of the copper bar assembly 210 is exposed to the housing 100. The copper bar assembly 210 exposed to the housing 100 can contact the external cooling assembly (such as the liquid cooling plate of the power battery) or the air to cool down. In some embodiments, the housing 100 is provided with an extension hole for the copper bar assembly 210 to extend, and a part of the copper bar assembly 210 extends out of the housing 100 through the extension hole so that the bent portion of the copper bar assembly 210 is located outside the outer surface of the housing 100. In some embodiments, the housing 100 is provided with an embedded hole, and the bent portion of the copper bar assembly 210 is embedded in the embedded hole so that the copper bar assembly 210 is coplanar with the surface where the embedded hole of the housing 100 is located, or the copper bar assembly 210 protrudes from the surface where the embedded hole is located. Since the copper bar assembly 210 can be cooled by external heat dissipation, the risk of overheating failure is reduced, and the needs of 4C super fast charging can be met.

According to the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 provided by one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat dissipation performance of the distribution box is improved by adopting the solution of internal temperature monitoring and active cooling of the copper busbar, and the temperature inside the distribution box is ensured to be normal by real-time acquisition and monitoring. The copper busbar is exposed and actively cooled, which improves the current carrying capacity of the copper busbar assembly 210 and prevents the occurrence of ablation and fire of the distribution box.

In some embodiments, referring to Figures 1 and 2, the electrical unit 200 further includes one or more relays 230. The relay 230 generally includes a coil and contacts, the contacts are divided into normally open contacts and normally closed contacts, wherein the normally open contacts are also called normally made contacts, and the normally closed contacts are also called normally broken contacts.

In some embodiments, one or more relays 230 are arranged in the inner cavity of the housing 100 in a horizontal posture. The relay 230 is arranged in a horizontal posture, that is, the contacts of the relay 230 are arranged at intervals in the horizontal direction, the action direction of the contact connection or disconnection is in the horizontal direction, and the action of the contact is not affected by the vertical force such as the vehicle bump. Compared with the vertical arrangement of the relay 230, which is easy to cause the contact to be accidentally connected/disconnected due to the vehicle bump, the relay 230 is arranged in a horizontal posture to ensure that the two contacts are connected or disconnected without being affected by the vehicle bump. In addition, the horizontal arrangement of the relay 230 saves the space of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 in the height direction (Z direction, vertical direction), and improves the space utilization of the power battery. At the same time, the horizontal arrangement of the relay 230 increases the bottom side area of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000, provides installation space for setting a large-sized copper bar assembly 210, increases the contact area of the copper bar assembly 210 with the external cooling assembly, and improves the heat dissipation efficiency.

In some embodiments, the number of relays 230 can be one, two, three, or four. Etc., the number of relays 230 can be determined according to demand. In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 2, the number of relays 230 is five, and the five relays 230 are respectively a pre-charge relay 231, a main positive relay 232, a fast charge positive relay 233, a main negative relay 234 and a fast charge negative relay 235, and the five relays 230 respectively control the on-off of the circuit. Specifically, the pre-charge relay 231 controls the on-off of the pre-charge circuit. The main positive relay 232 and the main negative relay 234 control the on-off of the connection line between the high-voltage distribution box and the battery assembly, which can realize the power on and off of the power battery. The fast charge positive relay 233 and the fast charge negative relay 235 control the on-off of the fast charge circuit. By setting the fast charge positive relay 233 and the fast charge negative relay 235, the on-off of the fast charge circuit can be independently controlled without affecting the on-off of other circuits of the power battery.

In some embodiments, please refer to Figures 2, 6 and 7, the electrical unit 200 also includes a current sensor 240 and several high-voltage connectors 260. The current sensor 240 is used to detect the current passing through the copper busbar assembly 210 to monitor the working status of the copper busbar assembly 210 and provide data support for the safe operation of the power battery. The high-voltage connector 260 can be a high-voltage connector or other structural member capable of achieving high-voltage connection. The high-voltage connector 260 can be directly connected to the copper busbar assembly 210, or connected to the copper busbar assembly 210 through a cable. The number of high-voltage connectors 260 can be two, three, four or five, etc. Multiple high-voltage connectors 260 can be used to connect power battery charging harnesses, car heaters, front drive motors, rear drive motors, on-board chargers, etc.

Please refer to Figure 6. In some embodiments, four high-voltage connectors 260 are provided, namely a high-voltage connector 260a for connecting the power battery charging harness, a high-voltage connector 260b for connecting the vehicle charger, a high-voltage connector 260c for connecting the front drive motor, and a high-voltage connector 260d for connecting the rear drive motor.

In some embodiments, referring to Figures 3, 4 and 5, the copper busbar assembly 210 includes a first copper busbar 211 connecting the current sensor 240 and the main positive relay 232, a second copper busbar 212 connecting the main positive relay 232 and the fast charging positive relay 233, a third copper busbar 213 connecting the fast charging positive relay 233 and the corresponding high-voltage connector 260 (i.e., high-voltage connector 260a), a fourth copper busbar 214 connecting the fast charging negative relay 235 and the corresponding high-voltage connector 260 (i.e., high-voltage connector 260a), and a fifth copper busbar 215 connecting the main negative relay 234 and the fast charging negative relay 235.

At least one of the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214, and the fifth copper bar 215 is bent and exposed to the housing 100. In some embodiments, the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214, and the fifth copper bar 215 are all bent, and the bent parts of the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214, and the fifth copper bar 215 are exposed to the housing 100 to exchange heat with an external cooling component or airflow for heat dissipation.

In some embodiments, the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214 and the fifth copper bar 215 are arranged in sequence along the length direction of the housing 100, that is, the length or width direction of the power battery, so as to increase the heat dissipation area of the copper bar assembly 210 exposed to the housing 100. In some embodiments, considering that the high-voltage connector 260a connected to the power battery charging harness bears the highest voltage, the high-voltage connector 260a is arranged to be connected to the third copper bar 213 and the fourth copper bar 214 through high-voltage screws. The bolts are fastened to achieve electrical connection, and the other high-voltage connectors 260 are electrically connected to the copper busbar assembly 210 through wires.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214, and the fifth copper bar 215 is a special-shaped copper bar, and the special-shaped copper bar is provided with a avoidance area 210a and/or a parallel pin 210b. Please refer to Figure 5, the avoidance area 210a is an area in the copper bar used to avoid other structural parts. By setting the avoidance area 210a, the copper bar and the external structural parts can be prevented from interfering, the copper bar crossing can be reduced, and a safe distance between the copper bars can be maintained. The parallel pin 210b is a pin extended from the copper bar. The parallel pin 210b of the special-shaped copper bar can be two, three, or four, etc., so that the power battery high-voltage distribution box (BDU) has a plurality of parallel high-voltage output terminals, which output voltages to the front drive motor, rear drive motor, car heater (referred to as PTC) and on-board charger (referred to as OBC) of the vehicle respectively. Under the premise of satisfying the current carrying area, the parallel pin 210b can also increase the surface area of the copper bar exposed to the housing 100, thereby increasing the heat dissipation area. In some embodiments, the special-shaped copper bar can be configured to have both a avoidance area 210a for avoiding other structural parts and a parallel pin 210b.

Please refer to Figures 4 and 5. In some embodiments, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213 and the fifth copper bar 215 are all special-shaped copper bars. The second copper bar 212 and the fifth copper bar 215 are both provided with a plurality of parallel pins 210b; the third copper bar 213 has an escape area 210a for escaping other structural parts. The third copper bar 213 is a three-dimensional special-shaped copper bar, which can reasonably utilize the remaining space inside the high-voltage distribution box and reduce the volume of the high-voltage distribution box.

In some embodiments, please refer to FIG. 2 , the current sensor 240 is a Hall sensor, and the copper bar assembly 210 further includes a sixth copper bar 216 coupled to the Hall sensor, and the width of the sixth copper bar 216 is smaller than the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214, and the fifth copper bar 215. The width of the sixth copper bar 216 is narrower to adapt to Hall sensors of different brands and models, ensuring that the sixth copper bar 216 can pass through the Hall coil of the Hall sensor. In some embodiments, the specifications of the sixth copper bar 216 are: cross-sectional width 16 to 22 mm, cross-sectional height (i.e., copper bar thickness) is 6 to 10 mm, for example, the cross-sectional size of the sixth copper bar 216 is 20 mm×8 mm, or 18 mm×10 mm, etc. The cross-sectional width of the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214 and the fifth copper bar 215 is 28-32 mm, and the thickness is 4-6 mm. For example, the cross-sectional dimensions of the first copper bar 211, the second copper bar 212, the third copper bar 213, the fourth copper bar 214 and the fifth copper bar 215 are 30 mm×5 mm, or 28 mm×6 mm, etc. The sixth copper bar 216 is narrower in width and thicker in thickness, which meets the requirements of the flow area and can also be adapted to Hall sensors of different sizes; the remaining copper bars are wider in width and thinner in thickness, which meet the requirements of the flow area, increase the heat dissipation area, and improve the heat dissipation efficiency.

In some embodiments, please refer to FIG. 5 , the copper bar assembly 210 further includes a seventh copper bar 217 and an eighth copper bar 218 for connecting the battery modules 810 of the battery assembly 800 in series, that is, two of the battery modules 810 of the battery assembly 800 are connected in series through the copper bar assembly 210 of the high-voltage distribution box. The seventh copper bar 217 and the eighth copper bar 218 are electrically connected to form a circuit that conducts the two serially connected battery modules 810. The battery modules 810 are connected in series to form the battery assembly 800 through the seventh copper bar 217 and the eighth copper bar 218.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 2 , FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , the electrical unit 200 further includes a fuse 250, which is connected in series between the seventh copper bar 217 and the eighth copper bar 218 to achieve different The power is cut off between the battery modules 810. In the case of thermal runaway, the fuse 250 will be disconnected after it is blown, so that the battery assembly 800 is divided into two non-conductive battery units, so that the number of cells in the battery unit with thermal runaway is significantly less than that in the battery assembly 800, thereby reducing the short-circuit current and heat generation during thermal runaway to avoid greater harm. In some embodiments, the seventh copper bar 217 and the eighth copper bar 218 are located on the side of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 and are close to the battery assembly 800. The fuse 250 can be an intelligent fuse 250, which can be actively fused or passively fused to form active and passive insurance, thereby improving safety performance.

In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 5, the copper busbar assembly 210 also includes a battery positive electrode connection copper busbar 219a and a battery negative electrode connection copper busbar 219b, wherein the battery positive electrode connection copper busbar 219a is used to connect to the positive electrode of the battery assembly 800, and the battery negative electrode connection copper busbar 219b is used to connect to the negative electrode of the battery assembly 800. The battery positive electrode connection copper busbar 219a and the battery negative electrode connection copper busbar 219b can be selectively arranged inside the shell 100 or outside the shell 100 to reduce the volume of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000.

In some embodiments, please refer to FIG. 2 , two temperature sensors 220 are provided. Since the current at the position measured by the current sensor 240 is large, the heat generation is high, and the sensitivity and accuracy of the current sensor 240 are affected by the temperature, one of the temperature sensors 220 is provided at the installation location of the current sensor 240 to monitor the temperature there in real time. In some embodiments, one of the temperature sensors 220 is close to the sixth copper bar 216, and the other temperature sensor 220 is provided at a position close to at least one of the fast charging positive relay 233, the fast charging negative relay 235, the third copper bar 213, and the fourth copper bar 214, that is, another temperature sensor 220 is close to the fast charging positive relay 233, or another temperature sensor 220 is close to the fast charging negative relay 235, or another temperature sensor 220 is close to the third copper bar 213, or another temperature sensor 220 is close to the fourth copper bar 214, or another temperature sensor 220 is provided between the third copper bar 213 and the fourth copper bar 214, and more positions are not given one by one. The fast charging circuit corresponding to the fast charging positive relay 233 and the fast charging negative relay 235 has a large current value and generates a lot of heat. The third copper busbar 213 connects the fast charging positive relay 233 and the corresponding high-voltage connector 260, and the fourth copper busbar 214 connects the fast charging negative relay 235 and the corresponding high-voltage connector 260. The current value is large and the heat generated is large. Therefore, another temperature sensor 220 is placed close to at least one of the fast charging positive relay 233, the fast charging negative relay 235, the third copper busbar 213, and the fourth copper busbar 214 to monitor the temperature of the fast charging circuit in the high-voltage distribution box.

Please refer to FIG. 2 , in some embodiments, there are more than two temperature sensors 220, all for detecting the ambient temperature. One of the temperature sensors 220 is close to the sixth copper bar 216, and the remaining one or more temperature sensors 220 are arranged near the first copper bar 211 and the main positive relay 232, where there are more copper bar joints and the temperature is higher.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 1 , the housing 100 includes an upper housing 110 and a lower housing 120, and the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120 are enclosed together to form an inner cavity. In some embodiments, the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120 are both injection molded parts, and the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120 are directly injection molded. In some embodiments, the lower housing 120 is provided with an extension hole or an embedding hole, the electrical unit 200 is located in the inner cavity, the bent portion of the copper busbar assembly 210 extends out of the extension hole and is exposed to the housing 100, or the bent portion of the copper busbar assembly 210 is exposed to the housing 100. The copper busbar assembly 210 is partially located in the embedded hole, and the bent portion is coplanar with the surface where the embedded hole is located or protrudes from the surface where the embedded hole is located, so as to contact and exchange heat with the external cooling component. Since the copper busbar assembly 210 is partially exposed to the shell 100, so as to dissipate heat with the external cooling component, the upper shell 110 and the lower shell 120 do not need to have heat dissipation holes, thereby improving the mechanical strength of the shell 100, reducing the cost of the manufacturing process, and avoiding the short circuit problem caused by debris entering the shell 100.

In some embodiments, please refer to FIG. 1 , the power battery high voltage distribution box 1000 also includes an insulating thermal pad 300, which covers the portion of the copper busbar assembly 210 exposed to the shell 100, so as to insulate the copper busbar from the external cooling assembly, and at the same time, the heat of the copper busbar can be exported to the cooling assembly. The insulating thermal pad 300 can be set to one, two or three pieces, and the thickness of the insulating thermal pad 300 generally ranges from 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm. The number and thickness of the insulating thermal pad 300 can be selected independently to avoid the shell 100 scratching or breaking the cooling assembly due to the uneven bottom of the power battery high voltage distribution box 1000 during driving or other vibration shocks.

Please refer to FIG. 4. In some embodiments, the copper bar in the copper bar assembly 210 (referring to any of the above copper bars) includes a body 210c and a connecting portion 210d for connecting a high-voltage fastener. The surface of the body 210c is provided with an insulating layer or sprayed with epoxy resin powder to provide insulation protection to prevent electrical conduction between two adjacent copper bars. In some embodiments, the surface of the connecting portion 210d is provided with a nickel plating layer, which has good electrical conductivity and can also prevent electrochemical corrosion. The connecting portion 210d is located outside the housing 100 or inside the housing 100. The connecting portion 210d of the copper bar can be connected to the high-voltage connector 260 through a high-voltage fastener, or connected to the connecting portion 210d of other copper bars through a high-voltage fastener, or connected to a wire through a fastener. The high-voltage fastener is a high-voltage bolt, and the current is transmitted through the body 210c, the connecting portion 210d, the nickel plating layer and the high-voltage bolt. The connecting portion 210d is provided with a through hole 210e for the high-pressure fastener to pass through. The through hole 210e can be a plain hole or a threaded hole. The through hole 210e and the surrounding area together constitute the connecting portion 210d.

In some embodiments, the copper busbar assembly 210 exposed to the housing 100 at the bottom of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 can be a busbar or a high-voltage copper busbar. The copper busbar assembly 210 connects the battery 810 to the relay 230, and then connects to the high-voltage connector 260 to form a power circuit. Since the external cooling assembly is used for heat conduction and heat dissipation, the heat dissipation efficiency is high, so the copper busbar assembly 210 and the relay 230 can both be selected as smaller products to save space, increase the current carrying rate, and meet the needs of super fast charging.

According to the second aspect of the present disclosure, a power battery is provided. Referring to FIG. 7 , the power battery includes a frame 700, a battery assembly 800, a cooling assembly (not shown in the figure), a control unit 600, and a power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 according to any embodiment of the first aspect, wherein the frame 700 is provided with a battery cavity and a control cavity, the battery assembly 800 is provided in the battery cavity, the control unit 600 and the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 are both located in the control cavity; the copper busbar assembly 210 is electrically connected to the battery assembly 800, the temperature sensor 220 is electrically connected to the control unit 600; and the portion of the copper busbar assembly 210 exposed to the housing 100 is thermally connected to the cooling assembly.

In some embodiments, the cooling assembly may be a cooling chamber in the frame 700, and the cooling medium flows in the cooling chamber. In some embodiments, the cooling assembly may also be a liquid cooling plate or a liquid cooling pipe. When the cooling assembly is a liquid cooling plate or a liquid cooling tube, the liquid cooling plate or the liquid cooling tube is connected to the frame 700, and the portion of the liquid cooling plate or the liquid cooling tube located in the battery cavity exchanges heat with the battery assembly 800 to dissipate heat from the battery assembly 800, and the portion of the liquid cooling plate or the liquid cooling tube located in the control cavity exchanges heat with the portion of the copper busbar assembly 210 exposed to the shell 100 to dissipate heat from the copper busbar. The cooling medium can be a coolant, such as cooling water, which has a high cooling intensity and a good cooling effect. In some embodiments, the cooling assembly is thermally connected to the insulating thermal pad 300. In some embodiments, the lower shell 120 of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 is fixed to the bracket in the control cavity by bolts so that the bottom of the distribution box is in close contact with the cooling assembly through the insulating thermal pad.

The control unit 600 may be a BMS, and the control unit 600 is electrically connected to the relay 230 to realize the opening and closing of the contacts of the relay 230. The control unit 600 is electrically connected to the current sensor 240 to collect the current value monitored by the current sensor 240. The control unit 600 is electrically connected to the temperature sensor 220 to collect the temperature value detected by the temperature sensor 220. Please refer to Figure 6, the power battery also includes a thermal runaway sensor 400, which is electrically connected to the control unit 600, and transmits a signal to the control unit 600 when thermal runaway occurs in the power battery. The control unit 600 includes a master control unit 610 and two slave control units 620, and the thermal runaway sensor 400 is electrically connected to the master control unit 610, and the power battery includes a low-voltage interface 500 provided on the master control unit 610.

In some embodiments, the control unit 600 performs the following control method:

Step 1: Obtain the temperature values detected by the two temperature sensors 220 .

Step 2: When at least one of the two temperature values exceeds the first set value and is maintained for a time period of t1, the cooling medium of the cooling assembly is kept circulating in the cooling assembly to exchange heat with the copper busbar assembly 210 to dissipate heat.

When at least one of the two temperature values exceeds the second set value and is maintained for a time of t2, the controller controls the battery assembly 800 to reduce power to prevent damage to the device due to overheating. In some embodiments, the control unit 600 can control the fast charge positive relay 233 and/or the fast charge negative relay 235 to operate and disconnect the fast charge circuit. In some embodiments, the controller controls the battery assembly 800 to reduce power so that the battery assembly 800 is half loaded or limp.

When at least one of the two temperature values is greater than the third set value and maintained for more than t3, the controller controls the battery assembly 800 to be under high voltage to prevent ablation or thermal runaway, etc. In some embodiments, the control unit 600 can control the main positive relay 232 and/or the main negative relay 234 to operate to disconnect the power battery from the external circuit.

Among them, the first setting value, the second setting value and the third setting value increase in sequence and can be set as needed. Similarly, t1, t2 and t3 can also be set as needed. In some embodiments, the first setting value is 50℃～60℃, the second setting value is 80℃～100℃, and the third setting value is 150℃～160℃. t1 is 60～90s, t2 is 60～90s, and t3 is 30～60s.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided, comprising a power battery disclosed in any embodiment of the second aspect.

The power battery high voltage distribution box 1000, the power battery and the vehicle provided by the present disclosure have at least the following advantages:

(1) The copper busbar assembly 210 of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 is partially exposed outside the housing 100 and is thermally connected to an external cooling assembly, thereby improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 and being suitable for a high-rate fast charging system.

(2) Key parts in the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000: The temperature sensor 220 is arranged at the installation location of the Hall current sensor 240; the temperature sensor 220 is arranged at at least one of the high temperature rise parts, namely the fast charging positive relay 233, the fast charging negative relay 235, the third copper bar 213 and the fourth copper bar 214. By setting the temperature sensor 220, the high-voltage distribution box has the function of real-time monitoring and recording of the temperature of the key internal positions, so as to monitor and record in real time whether the temperature in the power battery high-voltage distribution box 1000 is normal, and take control measures when the temperature is abnormal: reduce the power or disconnect the circuit to improve the safety performance.

(3) The relay 230 is arranged horizontally, which greatly saves the layout space and increases the layout space of the copper busbar assembly 210. It provides a layout basis for increasing the heat dissipation area of the copper busbar assembly 210 exposed to the shell 100, and also ensures the stability of the contacts when the vehicle is bumped and vibrated.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, a first feature being “above” or “below” a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being “above”, “above”, and “above” a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being “below”, “below”, and “below” a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connection", "fixation", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "fixation" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

In addition, in the present disclosure, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that It is understood that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (12)

A power battery high-voltage distribution box comprises a shell and an electrical unit mounted on the shell, wherein the electrical unit comprises a copper busbar assembly and one or more temperature sensors, wherein the temperature sensors are located in an inner cavity of the shell, and the copper busbar assembly is bent toward one side of the shell so that part of the copper busbar assembly is exposed outside the shell. The power battery high-voltage distribution box as described in claim 1, wherein the electrical unit further comprises one or more relays; the one or more relays are arranged in a horizontal position in the inner cavity of the shell. The power battery high-voltage distribution box according to claim 2, wherein the number of the relays is five, namely, a pre-charge relay, a main positive relay, a fast charge positive relay, a main negative relay and a fast charge negative relay; The electrical unit also includes a current sensor and a number of high voltage connectors; The copper bar assembly includes a first copper bar connecting the current sensor and the main positive relay, a second copper bar connecting the main positive relay and the fast charging positive relay, a third copper bar connecting the fast charging positive relay and the corresponding high-voltage connector, a fourth copper bar connecting the fast charging negative relay and the corresponding high-voltage connector, and a fifth copper bar connecting the main negative relay and the fast charging negative relay. The first copper bar, the second copper bar, the third copper bar, the fourth copper bar and the fifth copper bar are at least partially exposed from the shell. According to claim 3, the power battery high-voltage distribution box, wherein the second copper bar, the third copper bar and the fifth copper bar are all special-shaped copper bars; the special-shaped copper bars are provided with avoidance areas and/or parallel pins. The power battery high-voltage distribution box according to claim 3, wherein the current sensor is a Hall sensor, and the copper bar assembly further includes a sixth copper bar coupled to the Hall sensor, and the width of the sixth copper bar is smaller than that of the first copper bar, the second copper bar, the third copper bar, the fourth copper bar, and the fifth copper bar. According to the power battery high-voltage distribution box of claim 3, wherein the temperature sensors are provided with two, one of which is arranged at the installation location of the current sensor; the other temperature sensor is arranged at a position close to at least one of the fast charging positive relay, the fast charging negative relay, the third copper busbar, and the fourth copper busbar. According to any one of claims 1 to 6, the copper bar assembly further comprises a seventh copper bar and an eighth copper bar for connecting the battery modules of the battery assembly in series; the electrical unit further comprises a fuse, which is connected in series between the seventh copper bar and the eighth copper bar. According to any one of claims 1 to 6, the high-voltage distribution box for a power battery, wherein the shell comprises an upper shell and a lower shell, and the upper shell and the lower shell together enclose the inner cavity; the upper shell and the lower shell are both injection molded parts. The power battery high-voltage distribution box according to any one of claims 1 to 6 further includes an insulating thermally conductive pad, which covers the portion of the copper busbar assembly exposed from the shell. A power battery high-voltage distribution box according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the copper busbar in the copper busbar assembly comprises a main body and a connecting portion for connecting a high-voltage fastener, the surface of the main body is provided with an insulating layer or sprayed with epoxy resin powder, and the surface of the connecting portion is provided with a nickel-plated layer. A power battery comprises a frame, a battery assembly, a cooling assembly, a control unit and a power battery high-voltage distribution box according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the frame is provided with a battery cavity and a control cavity, the battery assembly is arranged in the battery cavity, the control unit and the power battery high-voltage distribution box are both located in the control cavity; the copper busbar assembly is electrically connected to the battery assembly, and the temperature sensor is electrically connected to the control unit; and the portion of the copper busbar assembly exposed outside the shell is thermally connected to the cooling assembly. A vehicle comprising the power battery according to claim 11.