VEHICLE BATTERY COOLING DEVICE

• US 20090120620A1
• Filed: 11/12/2008
• Published: 05/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Koichi, Kobayashi, Hiroto, Abe, Naoyuki, Ohkawa, Tsukasa, Tachikawa, Kosuke
• Granted Patent: US 7,905,308 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/104.310
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/005 the electric storage means
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/617 for achieving uniformity or desired distribution of temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/643 Cylindrical cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6565 with recirculation or U-turn in the flow path, i.e. back and forth
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6566 Means within the gas flow to guide the flow around one or more cells, e.g. manifolds, baffles or other barriers H01M10/6565 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/213 adapted for cells having curved cross-section, e.g. round or elliptic H01M50/209, H01M50/216 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/244 Secondary casings; Racks; Suspension devices; Carrying devices; Holders characterised by their mounting method
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/249 specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A vehicle battery cooling device, which includes: a battery case for housing a plurality of batteries to be mounted on a vehicle; a fan for circulating air for cooling the batteries by suctioning air in the battery case; an air inlet disposed on each of a pair of side wall portions facing each other for introducing air from outside the battery case; and an air outlet disposed on a bottom wall portion of the battery case for exhausting air from the battery case by suctioning of the fan.

Claims

1. A vehicle battery cooling device, comprising:

a battery case for housing a plurality of batteries to be mounted on a vehicle;

a fan for circulating air for cooling the batteries by suctioning air in the battery case;

an air inlet disposed on each of a pair of side wall portions facing each other for introducing air from outside the battery case; and

an air outlet disposed on a bottom wall portion of the battery case for exhausting air from the battery case by suctioning of the fan.

2. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an air introduction duct for introducing air from outside through one air introduction port and guiding the air to each of the air inlets by branching the air,

wherein the one air introduction port is disposed distant from an external heat source.

3. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising:

two first frames extending in a front-rear direction of the vehicle;

at least two second frames extending in a vehicle-width direction of the vehicle and to be connected to the two first frames; and

a lower plate for sealing a lower side of a space surrounded by the two first frames and the at least two second frames,

wherein the battery case is disposed above the space, and air inside the battery case is suctioned by the fan through the air outlet and the space when the fan is operated.

4. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 2, further comprising:

two first frames extending in a front-rear direction of the vehicle;

at least two second frames extending in a vehicle-width direction of the vehicle and to be connected to the two first frames; and

a lower plate for sealing a lower side of a space surrounded by the two first frames and the at least two second frames,

wherein the battery case is disposed above the space, and air inside the battery case is suctioned by the fan through the air outlet and the space when the fan is operated.

5. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 3,

wherein the battery case is disposed shifted to one side of the two first frames in the vehicle-width direction, and the fan is disposed on an area above the space produced by shifting the battery case in the vehicle-width direction.

6. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 4,

wherein the battery case is disposed shifted to one side of the two first frames in the vehicle-width direction, and the fan is disposed on an area above the space produced by shifting the battery case in the vehicle-width direction.

7. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a communication hole disposed in the lower plate for communicating between the space and outside,

wherein the communication hole is disposed at a position opposite to the fan across the air outlet in the vehicle-width direction.

8. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a communication hole disposed in the lower plate for communicating between the space and outside,

wherein the communication hole is disposed at a position opposite to the fan across the air outlet in the vehicle-width direction.

9. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pillar member for connecting an upper wall portion and a bottom wall portion of the battery case; and

an air outlet disposed in the upper wall portion and/or bottom wall portion in the vicinity of the pillar member for exhausting air inside the battery case,

wherein the batteries have a circular columnar shape and the plurality of the batteries are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the pillar member at a predetermined interval in each layer of the batteries and alternately arranged between the adjacent layers of the batteries in plan view of the battery case; and

wherein a first dummy portion having a semicircular columnar shape is disposed on the pillar member, corresponding to a concave portion of each of the battery groups on a side of the air outlet as a dummy of the battery.

10. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 9,

wherein the air inlet is disposed corresponding to a protruding battery toward a side of the air inlet of each of the battery groups;

and

air from the air inlet is introduced toward the protruding battery.

11. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 9,

wherein a second dummy portion having a semicircular columnar shape is disposed at a position between adjacent batteries on an inner surface of at least one of the upper wall portion and the bottom wall portion of the battery case as a dummy of the battery.

12. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 10,

wherein a second dummy portion having a semicircular columnar shape is disposed at a position between adjacent batteries on an inner surface of at least one of the upper wall portion and the bottom wall portion of the battery case as a dummy of the battery.

13. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising:

temperature detection mean for detecting a temperature of the battery; and

control means for controlling the fan based on the temperature of the battery detected by the temperature detection mean,

wherein a flow path of air inside the battery case is divided into a plurality of air flow paths;

wherein the plurality of batteries are divided into battery groups which are composed of equal number and same arrangement, as well as disposed in each of the air flow paths, respectively; and

wherein a flow rate of air flowing inside of at least one of the air flow paths is designed to be less than the flow rate of the other flow paths,

wherein the temperature detection means is set in a battery composing a battery group disposed in the at least one of the air flow paths.

14. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 13,

wherein a flow resistance of air toward the at lest one of the air flow paths is larger than the flow resistance of air toward the other air flow paths.

15. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 13,

wherein a flow resistance of air exhausted from the at lest one of the air flow paths is larger than the flow resistance of air exhausted from the other air flow paths.

16. The vehicle battery cooling device according to claim 14,

wherein a flow resistance of air exhausted from the at least one of the air flow paths is larger than the flow resistance of air exhausted from the other air flow paths.