JP7268537B2 - battery cooling system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a battery cooling system that manages battery temperature.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a battery system capable of cooling battery modules as a plurality of batteries, for example, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In such a battery system, a plurality of battery modules are arranged at a distance from each other, thereby forming coolant passages between the plurality of battery modules. Each battery module is cooled by blowing cooling air through each refrigerant passage with a fan.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-331932

By the way, in the battery system as described above, since the plurality of battery modules is cooled only by flowing a certain amount of cooling air from a fan through the coolant passages formed between the plurality of battery modules, the plurality of battery modules is cooled. There is room for improvement in managing the module at an appropriate temperature.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. The object is to provide a battery cooling system capable of precisely controlling the battery at an appropriate temperature.

Means for solving the above problems and their effects will be described below.
A battery cooling system that solves the above problems includes a plurality of batteries arranged so as to line up in one direction; a fluid supplier that supplies the fluid to the battery cooler; a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the battery; and a pressurizing force can be applied to the battery cooler in the one direction and a control unit for controlling the driving of the pressure mechanism, and the battery cooler reduces the cross-sectional area of the flow path when pressure is applied by the pressure mechanism. Based on the result of detection by the temperature sensor, the controller controls, based on the result of detection by the temperature sensor, when the temperature of the battery is high, the pressure from the pressurizing mechanism is higher than when the temperature of the battery is low. The gist of the invention is to control the driving of the pressurizing mechanism so that the pressurizing force applied to the battery cooler is increased.

According to this configuration, the battery cooler elastically deforms so that the cross-sectional area of the flow path is reduced when the pressurizing force is applied by the pressurizing mechanism. As a result, the flow velocity of the fluid flowing through the flow path is increased, so that the battery cooling performance of the battery cooler is improved. Therefore, when the temperature of the battery becomes higher than the appropriate temperature, the battery can be efficiently cooled by pressurizing the battery cooler with the pressurizing mechanism. can be quickly lowered to On the other hand, when the battery temperature becomes lower than the appropriate temperature, the pressurization of the battery cooler by the pressurizing mechanism is released. can be raised to an appropriate temperature. That is, the control unit applies pressure to the battery cooler from the pressurizing mechanism based on the result of detection by the temperature sensor so that the pressure applied to the battery cooler when the temperature of the battery is high is greater than when the temperature of the battery is low. By controlling the driving of the mechanism, the battery can be accurately managed at an appropriate temperature.

1 is a schematic side view showing a schematic configuration of a battery cooling system according to one embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view specifically showing the position of the blower in the battery cooling system of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the battery cooler when the cross-sectional area of the flow path is normal; FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the battery cooler when the cross-sectional area of the flow path is smaller than normal; FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a state in which a pair of clamping members pressurize a plurality of battery coolers together with a plurality of batteries in the battery cooling system of FIG. 1 ;

An embodiment of a battery cooling system will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery cooling system 11 includes a plurality of batteries 12, a plurality of battery coolers 13, a plurality of temperature sensors 14, a plurality of blowers 15 as an example of a fluid supplier, A pressure mechanism 16 and a control unit 17 are provided.

Each battery 12 is composed of a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery in a state of being wrapped in an aluminum laminate film in a substantially rectangular plate shape. The plurality of batteries 12 are arranged on a hollow rectangular parallelepiped base member 18 in one direction X in the horizontal direction. In this case, the longitudinal direction of the base member 18 and the one direction X match. A plurality of batteries 12 each have a positive electrode terminal 19 and a negative electrode terminal 20 protruding from their upper surfaces, and are connected in series by a bus bar (not shown).

Each battery cooler 13 has a substantially rectangular plate shape and is arranged between adjacent batteries 12 aligned in one direction X so as to be in contact with the batteries 12 . That is, on the base member 18, the plurality of batteries 12 and the plurality of battery coolers 13 are alternately arranged in one direction X so as to be in maximum surface contact. In this case, the number of battery coolers 13 is one less than the number of batteries 12 because the batteries 12 are arranged at both ends in the one direction X. As shown in FIG.

A pair of L-shaped plate-shaped clamping members 21 are arranged outside the two batteries 12 positioned at both ends in the one direction X on the base member 18 so as to be in surface contact with the two batteries 12, respectively. . That is, the pair of holding members 21 are arranged so as to collectively hold the plurality of batteries 12 and the plurality of battery coolers 13 in one direction X from both sides. One of the pair of clamping members 21 is a fixed clamping member 23 fixed on the base member 18 by a pair of bolts 22, and the other is a movable clamping member provided on the base member 18 so as to reciprocate in one direction X. A member 24 is provided.

An actuator 25 capable of reciprocating the movable clamping member 24 in one direction X is provided below the movable clamping member 24 in the base member 18 . The actuator 25 includes a ball screw shaft 26 extending in one direction X, a nut 27 screwed onto the ball screw shaft 26 and connected to the movable holding member 24, and capable of rotationally driving the ball screw shaft 26 in both forward and reverse directions. A motor 28 is provided.

Therefore, by rotating the ball screw shaft 26 in the forward direction or in the reverse direction by the motor 28, the movable clamping member 24 moves toward or away from the fixed clamping member 23 in the one direction X. move to When the motor 28 rotates the ball screw shaft 26 in the forward direction to move the movable clamping member 24 toward the fixed clamping member 23 in the direction X, the pair of clamping members 21 A pressurizing force in one direction X is applied to the plurality of battery coolers 13 and the plurality of batteries 12 .

In this embodiment, the actuator 25 and the pair of clamping members 21 constitute a pressing mechanism 16 capable of applying a pressing force in the one direction X to the battery cooler 13 .
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the battery cooler 13 includes a pair of rectangular plate-shaped sheet metal members 30 facing each other in one direction X, and an elastic member disposed between the pair of sheet metal members 30 . A leaf spring portion 31 is provided as an example. In the battery cooler 13, the gap between the pair of sheet metal members 30 forms a channel 32 through which air, which is an example of a cooling fluid, flows. The battery cooler 13 has a pair of sheet metal members 30 made of a material having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and cools the battery 12 by contacting the battery 12 and drawing heat from the battery 12 .

A plurality of leaf spring portions 31 in the battery cooler 13 are formed by cutting and raising one of the pair of sheet metal members 30 . In this case, the plurality of leaf spring portions 31 are arranged in a zigzag pattern in both the vertical and horizontal directions of the sheet metal member 30 . That is, the plurality of leaf spring portions 31 are formed so as to be arranged in a zigzag manner with respect to the sheet metal member 30 . One of the pair of sheet metal members 30 on which the plurality of leaf spring portions 31 are formed is a first sheet metal member 33 , and the other is a second sheet metal member 34 .

Each leaf spring portion 31 extends from the first sheet metal member 33 toward the second sheet metal member 34 so as to be inclined with respect to the first sheet metal member 33 in one side of the width direction Y perpendicular to both the one direction X and the vertical direction. and a rectangular plate-shaped distal end portion 36 extending straight from the distal end of the proximal end portion 35 to one side in the width direction Y along the second sheet metal member 34. there is In this case, the lateral direction and the width direction Y of the base member 18 match. A tip portion 36 of each plate spring portion 31 is joined to the second sheet metal member 34 in a state of surface contact.

In the battery cooler 13, when pressure is applied in the one direction X by the pair of holding members 21, the passage 32, which is the gap between the pair of sheet metal members 30, narrows as shown in FIG. Each plate spring portion 31 is elastically deformed. That is, in the battery cooler 13, when pressure is applied in the one direction X by the pair of holding members 21, as shown in FIG. is elastically deformed.

In this case, the acute angle formed between the base end portion 35 of each leaf spring portion 31 and the first sheet metal member 33 becomes small, and the obtuse angle formed between the base end portion 35 and the tip portion 36 of each leaf spring portion 31 becomes As a result, the positions of the first sheet metal member 33 and the second sheet metal member 34 are shifted in the width direction Y.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of blowers 15 are arranged in the one direction X at one side in the width direction Y with respect to the base member 18 so as to be arranged at regular intervals. In this case, the plurality of blowers 15 are arranged on the side opposite to the side where the base end portion 35 of each plate spring portion 31 in the battery cooler 13 is inclined in the width direction Y with respect to the first sheet metal member 33 . The plurality of blowers 15 supply cooling air to the flow paths 32 of the plurality of battery coolers 13 and the plurality of batteries 12 .

The control unit 17 comprehensively controls the battery cooling system 11 . A temperature sensor 14 for detecting the temperature of the plurality of batteries 12 is attached to each of the plurality of batteries 12 . The controller 17 is electrically connected to the plurality of blowers 15, the plurality of temperature sensors 14, and the motor 28, respectively. The control unit 17 controls the driving of the motor 28 and the plurality of fans 15 based on the detection results of the plurality of temperature sensors 14 . Note that the controller 17 stores an upper limit value J and a lower limit value K of a temperature range suitable for the battery 12 for efficient use of the battery 12 .

Next, operation of the battery cooling system 11 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the initial state of the battery cooling system 11, each blower 15 is stopped in a state in which the pair of clamping members 21 does not apply pressure to each battery cooler 13 in one direction X. It is in a state of When each battery 12 is used in this state, the temperature of each battery 12 rises. Then, when the average temperature of each battery 12 becomes higher than the lower limit value K, each blower 15 is driven to supply cooling air to the flow path 32 of each battery cooler 13 and each battery 12 .

Then, the heat taken from the battery 12 by each battery cooler 13 is removed by the air flowing through the flow path 32 , so that each battery 12 is efficiently cooled by the battery cooler 13 . When each battery 12 is cooled by the battery cooler 13 and the average temperature of each battery 12 becomes lower than the lower limit value K, each blower 15 is stopped.

As a result, each battery 12 is hardly cooled by the battery cooler 13, so that the average temperature of each battery 12 rises again and becomes higher than the lower limit value K. By adjusting the cooling state of each battery 12 by the battery cooler 13 in this manner, the average temperature of each battery 12 is controlled between the upper limit value J and the lower limit value K, which are appropriate temperature ranges.

However, depending on how each battery 12 is used, the cooling of each battery 12 by the battery cooler 13 may not keep up. Then, when the average temperature of each battery 12 becomes higher than the upper limit value J, the pair of clamping members 21 is moved by moving the movable clamping member 24 closer to the fixed clamping member 23 in the one direction X. applies a pressure in one direction X to the plurality of battery coolers 13 by .

Then, in each battery cooler 13, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each plate spring portion 31 is elastically deformed so that the channel 32, which is the gap between the pair of sheet metal members 30, becomes narrower. That is, in each battery cooler 13, each plate spring portion 31 is elastically deformed so that the cross-sectional area of the flow path 32 is reduced.

As a result, the flow velocity of the air flowing through the flow path 32 of each battery cooler 13 is increased, so that the cooling performance of each battery cooler 13 for the battery 12 is improved. Therefore, each battery 12 whose average temperature has become higher than the upper limit value J is effectively cooled by the battery cooler 13 and the average temperature of each battery 12 becomes lower than the upper limit value J.

As described above, in the battery cooling system 11 of the present embodiment, not only can cooling air be sent from each blower 15 to the battery cooler 13, but also the flow velocity of the air flowing through the flow path 32 of each battery cooler 13 can be adjusted. can be done. Therefore, since the cooling performance of each battery cooler 13 for the battery 12 can be adjusted, the temperature of each battery 12 can be finely controlled. That is, each battery 12 can be accurately controlled at an appropriate temperature.

According to the embodiment detailed above, the following effects are exhibited.
(1) In the battery cooling system 11, the battery cooler 13 is configured to be elastically deformable so that the cross-sectional area of the flow path 32 becomes smaller when pressure is applied by the pressure mechanism 16, and the controller 17 controls the temperature The drive of the pressurizing mechanism 16 is controlled based on the detection result by the sensor 14 . According to this configuration, the battery cooler 13 elastically deforms so that the cross-sectional area of the flow path 32 becomes smaller when a pressure is applied by the pressure mechanism 16 . Therefore, the flow velocity of the air flowing through the flow path 32 is increased, so that the cooling performance of the battery cooler 13 for the battery 12 is improved. Therefore, when the temperature of the battery 12 becomes higher than the appropriate temperature, the battery cooler 13 is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism 16 so that the battery 12 can be efficiently cooled. The temperature can be quickly lowered to a suitable temperature. On the other hand, when the temperature of the battery 12 becomes lower than the appropriate temperature, the pressurization of the battery cooler 13 by the pressurizing mechanism 16 is released, thereby lowering the cooling performance of the battery cooler 13 for the battery 12. Therefore, the temperature of the battery 12 can be raised to an appropriate temperature. That is, when the temperature of the battery 12 is higher than when the temperature of the battery 12 is low, the pressure applied from the pressurizing mechanism 16 to the battery cooler 13 is greater than when the temperature of the battery 12 is low. Since the driving of the pressurizing mechanism 16 is controlled so as to increase the temperature, the battery 12 can be accurately controlled at an appropriate temperature.

(2) In the battery cooling system 11, the pressure mechanism 16 includes a pair of clamping members 21 that collectively clamp the plurality of batteries 12 and the plurality of battery coolers 13 from both sides in one direction X, and the pair of clamping members and an actuator 25 which is relatively movable so as to move toward or away from each other in X. According to this configuration, the actuator 25 can relatively move the pair of holding members 21 toward or away from each other in the direction X, so that the plurality of batteries 12 and the plurality of battery coolers 13 can be collectively added. Alternatively, the pressurized state of the plurality of batteries 12 and the plurality of battery coolers 13 can be collectively released.

(3) In the battery cooling system 11 , each battery cooler 13 includes a pair of sheet metal members 30 and a leaf spring portion 31 arranged between the pair of sheet metal members 30 . The configuration of each battery cooler 13 can be simplified.

(4) In the battery cooling system 11 , the leaf spring portion 31 is formed by cutting and raising one of the pair of sheet metal members 30 . This configuration can contribute to a reduction in the number of parts constituting each battery cooler 13 . In addition, since the plate spring portion 31 is made of metal, it takes heat from the battery 12 . Therefore, not only the pair of sheet metal members 30 but also the leaf spring portion 31 can contribute to the cooling of the battery 12 .

(Change example)
The above embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. Moreover, the above embodiments and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.

- Both of the pair of holding members 21 may be configured to be reciprocally movable in one direction X. In this case, pressing force is applied to each battery cooler 13 and each battery 12 by moving both of the pair of holding members 21 toward each other in one direction X. As shown in FIG.

- The actuator 25 that constitutes the pressurizing mechanism 16 may be composed of an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, an electric cylinder, or the like.
- In the battery cooler 13, instead of the leaf spring portion 31, a coil spring, an elastomer, or the like may be employed as an elastic member.

If the cooling performance for the battery 12 by each battery cooler 13 is insufficient even if the cross-sectional area of the flow path 32 of each battery cooler 13 is reduced, the flow path from each blower 15 to each battery cooler 13 is further reduced. The flow rate of the air sent to 32 may be increased. In this way, the flow velocity of the air flowing through the flow path 32 of each battery cooler 13 is further increased, so that the cooling performance of each battery cooler 13 for the batteries 12 can be further improved.

- The plurality of batteries 12 and the plurality of battery coolers 13 do not necessarily have to be arranged alternately in one direction X. For example, one battery cooler 13 may be arranged for every two batteries 12 , or one battery cooler 13 may be arranged for every three batteries 12 . can be

- The cooling fluid may be a gas other than air, a liquid, or a mixture of gas and liquid. When a liquid is used as the cooling fluid, it is preferable to use an electrically insulating liquid such as Fluorinert (registered trademark), which is a fluorine-based inert liquid.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Battery cooling system 12... Battery 13... Battery cooler 14... Temperature sensor 15... Blower as an example of a fluid supplier 16... Pressure mechanism 17... Control part 21... Clamping member 25... Actuator 30... Sheet metal member 31... Plate spring portion as an example of an elastic member 32... Flow path X... One direction.

Claims (4)

a plurality of batteries arranged so as to line up in one direction;
a battery cooler disposed between the adjacent batteries so as to be in contact with the batteries and having a flow path through which a cooling fluid flows;
a fluid supplier that supplies the fluid to the battery cooler;
a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the battery;
a pressurizing mechanism capable of applying a pressurizing force in the one direction to the battery cooler;
a control unit that controls driving of the pressurizing mechanism;
with
The battery cooler is configured to be elastically deformable so that the cross-sectional area of the flow path becomes smaller when pressure is applied by the pressure mechanism,
Based on the result of detection by the temperature sensor, the control unit controls the pressure applied from the pressurizing mechanism to the battery cooler when the temperature of the battery is higher than when the temperature of the battery is lower. A battery cooling system characterized by controlling the driving of the pressurizing mechanism so as to increase the size. The pressurizing mechanism includes a pair of clamping members that collectively clamp the plurality of batteries and the battery cooler from both sides in the one direction, and a pair of clamping members that face each other in the one direction so as to approach and separate from each other. 2. The battery cooling system of claim 1, comprising a movable actuator. 3. The battery cooling system according to claim 1, wherein the battery cooler comprises a pair of sheet metal members and an elastic member arranged between the pair of sheet metal members. 4. The battery cooling system according to claim 3, wherein the elastic member comprises a leaf spring portion formed by cutting and raising one of the pair of sheet metal members.

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