Prismatic battery having cooling structure and battery pack using the same

• US 20030017384A1
• Filed: 07/17/2002
• Published: 01/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Eto, Toyohiko, Marukawa, Shuhei, Watanabe, Ko
• Granted Patent: US 6,858,344 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/120
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/647 Prismatic or flat cells, e.g. pouch cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6555 arranged between the cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6556 Solid parts with flow channel passages or pipes for heat exchange closed pipes H01M10/6552
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6567 Liquids
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/103 prismatic or rectangular H01M50/109, H01M50/11 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/119 Metals
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/209 adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells H01M50/216 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/289 characterised by spacing elements or positioning means within frames, racks or packs spacing elements inside cells other than separators, membranes or diaphragms H01M50/471
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery pack includes a plurality of prismatic batteries including an electrode plate group and electrolyte housed in a prismatic battery case and being arranged in parallel and integrally bound. A metal plate is integrally embedded in the sidewall of the prismatic battery which is in parallel with the electrode plate group. A heat transfer part protruding from the prismatic battery case is provided at least one side of the metal plate. A heat exchanger is provided such that a heat exchanging surface of the heat exchanger is brought into contact with the heat transfer part protruding from the prismatic battery case of the prismatic battery. Then, the battery pack and the heat exchanger are fixed.

Claims

1. A prismatic battery comprising:

an electrode plate group;

electrolyte; and

a prismatic battery case for housing the electrode plate group and the electrolyte, wherein

a metal plate is integrally embedded in a sidewall of the prismatic battery case, the sidewall being in parallel with the electrode plate group, and

a heat transfer part protruding from the prismatic battery case is provided at least one side of the metal plate.

2. The prismatic battery according to claim 1, wherein

a slit extending in a far-and-near direction with respect to the heat transfer part is provided in the metal plate.

3. The prismatic battery according to claim 1, wherein the heat transfer part of the metal plate is bent.

4. The prismatic battery according to claim 3, wherein

slits are provided in the heat transfer part at predetermined intervals.

5. The prismatic battery according to claim 1, wherein

the prismatic battery case comprises a plurality of prismatic cell cases, the cell case including long and short sidewalls, the cells being integrally connected so as to share the short sidewalls as a partition wall,

the heat transfer part of the metal plate protrudes in a direction crossing at right angle to a connecting direction of the cells,

a slit is provided in the metal plate for each cell case, the slit extending in a far-and-near direction with respect to the heat transfer part, and

a connecting part for transferring heat is provided in the metal plate at each position corresponding to a portion between the cell cases.

6. The prismatic battery according to claim 5, wherein

a plurality of the connecting parts are provided more at a part near the heat transfer part than at a part far therefrom.

7. A battery pack comprising a plurality of the prismatic batteries according to claim 1, the prismatic batteries being arranged in parallel and integrally bound, wherein

a heat exchanger is provided such that a heat exchanging surface of the heat exchanger is brought into contact with the heat transfer part protruding from the battery case of the prismatic battery, and the battery pack and the heat exchanger are fixed with each other.

8. The battery pack according to claim 7, wherein

a projection abutting on the heat exchanging surface of the heat exchanger is provided at an end face of the prismatic battery case from which the heat transfer part protrudes.

9. The battery pack according to claim 7, wherein

a heat transfer medium is provided around a contacting part of the heat transfer part of the prismatic battery and the heat exchanging surface of the heat exchanger.

10. The battery pack according to claim 7, wherein

the heat exchanging surface of the heat exchanger is formed to have a concavo-convex shape.