TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED BATTERY CONFIGURATION

• US 20100104927A1
• Filed: 10/13/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Edgewater Automation
• Original Assignee: Edgewater Automation
• Inventors: Albright, Scott
• Application Number:
  US12/577,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20100104927A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/50
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/145 Structure borne vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/615 Heating or keeping warm
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/647 Prismatic or flat cells, e.g. pouch cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/653 characterised by electrically insulating or thermally conductive materials
• 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 10/6557 arranged between the cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6568 characterised by flow circuits, e.g. loops, located externally to the cells or cell casings
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/211 adapted for pouch cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/264 for cells or batteries, e.g. straps, tie rods or peripheral frames
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/284 with incorporated circuit boards, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB]
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/291 : characterised by their shape
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A vehicle includes a body adapted to carry passengers or cargo, an electric engine/motor, and a temperature-controlled battery configuration. The battery configuration includes a casing, and a plurality of alternating Lithium-ion cell packs and spacers defining vertical channels, the spacers supporting the cell packs in a hanging manner in the casing. The casing is flooded with a thermally-conductive electrically-insulating fluid flowing from the inlet under the cell packs, upwardly across the cell packs and out an outlet to a heat exchanger for controlling a temperature of the cell packs. A fluid pump connected to the engine/motor and a heat exchanger pumps the liquid through the system. A controller is provided for controlling the pump and fluid flow to control a temperature of the battery configuration to maintain the temperature in a desired temperature range.

Claims

1. A battery configuration comprising:

a plurality of battery cells;

a battery case defining a space and housing the battery cells; and

a thermally-conductive electrically-insulating liquid flooding the space and coating the battery cells for conducting heat away from the battery cells while maintaining electrical integrity.

2. The battery configuration defined in claim 1, including a liquid motivating system including a pump pumping liquid continuously through the battery case.

3. The battery configuration defined in claim 2, wherein the liquid includes a paraffin material.

4. The battery configuration defined in claim 1, including a plurality of spacers that, with the battery cells, define parallel flow channels along individual ones of the battery cells.

5. The battery configuration defined in claim 4, wherein the spacers define a bottom channel, a top space, and wherein the parallel flow channels extend between the bottom channel and the top space.

6. The battery configuration defined in claim 1, including a circuit board in the case that is also flooded by the liquid.

7. A temperature-controlled battery configuration, comprising:

a plurality of battery cells, with conductive electrodes for accessing electrical power capacity of the cells;

a system of interconnecting hardware that allows multiple cells to function together as an electrical storage battery;

a control system including circuitry that is electrically connected to the cells for at least one of monitoring or controlling the battery configuration;

a container sized and shaped to contain and encapsulate the cells along with the system of interconnecting hardware and at least a portion of the control system; and

an electrically-insulating heat-transfer liquid filling the container and having direct contact to the cells, the hardware, and the portion of the control system in the container.

8. A temperature-controlled battery configuration, comprising:

a plurality of standard Lithium-ion cell packs with conductor tabs for accessing electrical power stored in the cell packs;

at least one spacer between and separating adjacent ones of each of the cell packs, the spacer having a perimeter that holds at least a part of a weight of the adjacent cell packs and that defines with the adjacent cell packs a plurality of channels;

positive and negative electrical conductors connecting the conductor tabs; and

a casing containing the cell packs, spacers, conductors and being adapted for connection to a pump and heat exchanger;

electrically-insulating thermally-conductive fluid, the case including an inlet and outlet connected to the channels for passing the electrically-insulating thermally-conductive fluid therethrough.

9. The battery configuration defined in claim 8, including a system having a pump and lines filled with the electrically-insulating thermally-conductive fluid for pumping through the inlet and the channels past the cell packs and through the outlet.

10. The battery configuration defined in claim 9, wherein the fluid is a liquid, and wherein the system includes a heat exchanger to remove or supply heat to the liquid.

11. The battery configuration defined in claim 10, wherein the liquid is a paraffin type material.

12. The battery configuration defined in claim 9, wherein the system is configured to selectively heat or cool the liquid.

13. The battery configuration defined in claim 8, including slugs that are electrically-conductive-and-thermally-conductive and others that are electrically-insulating-and-thermally-conductive.

14. The battery configuration defined in claim 8, including end spacers for clamping together a stacked arrangement of cells and spacers.

15. The battery configuration defined in claim 8, including a circuit board positioned in the casing and operably connected to the system for controlling a temperature of the fluid.

16. The battery configuration defined in claim 15, wherein the circuit board includes temperature and voltage sensors.

17. The battery configuration defined in claim 15, wherein the circuit board includes thermistors and spring contacts mounted to an underside of the circuit board.

18. The battery configuration defined in claim 8, wherein the spacers and cells define channels for directing flow of the fluid.

19. A temperature-controlled battery system, comprising:

a battery including a casing with an inlet and an outlet, and a plurality of standard Lithium-ion cell packs with channels therebetween positioned in the casing, the channels being adapted to communicate an electrically-insulating thermally-conductive fluid from the inlet past the cell packs to the outlet for controlling a temperature of the cell packs including directly impinging the fluid against outer surfaces of the cell packs;

a pump;

a heat exchanger; and

fluid lines operably connecting the pump, the inlet, the outlet and the heat exchanger;

the lines being filled with the thermally-conductive fluid.

20. A vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body with wheels and seating that is adapted to carry passengers and/or cargo;

an electric battery-powered motor for powering the vehicle;

a temperature-controlled battery configuration comprising a battery including a casing with an inlet and an outlet, and an alternating arrangement of Lithium-ion cell packs and spacers with at least one spacer between each of the cell packs, the spacers supporting at least part of a weight of the cell packs in the casing, the spacers further defining with adjacent ones of the cell packs a plurality of channels;

a thermally-conductive electrically-insulating fluid for passing into the inlet, along the channels and against an outer surface of the cell packs, and to the outlet for controlling a temperature of the cell packs;

a fluid pump for pumping the fluid;

a heat exchanger for controlling a temperature of the fluid;

fluid lines operably connecting the pump, the inlet, the outlet and the heat exchanger;

the lines being filled with the thermally-conductive fluid; and

a controller for controlling the pump and flow of the fluid to control a temperature of the battery configuration to maintain a desired temperature range of the cell packs.

21. A method of regulating temperature in a multiple-cell battery comprising steps of:

providing a battery with multiple cells spaced apart by spacers, at least a part of a weight of the cells being supported by the spacers and a combination of the cells with adjacent ones of the spacers forming fluid-conducting channels;

providing an electrically-insulating heat-transfer fluid;

passing the fluid through the channels past an outer surface of each of the cells under adjacent ones of the spacers at a rate sufficient to regulate cell temperature, including deliberately and directly impinging the fluid against the outer surfaces of the cells, but with the fluid not significantly interacting with the cell'"'"'s electrical charge nor detrimentally affecting the cell'"'"'s materials of construction; and

controlling a temperature of the fluid to achieve temperature control of the cells.