Battery cooling system

• US 6,106,972 A
• Filed: 07/01/1998
• Issued: 08/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Ishii, Katsuya, Kokubo, Akihisa, Banzai, Keiichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): CHANEY, CAROL DIANE
• Application Number:
  US09/108,941
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 429/120
• US Class Current: 429/120
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/003 with means for cooling the electrical propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 15/0266 with separate evaporating and condensing chambers connected by at least one conduit; Loop-type heat pipes; with multiple or common evaporating or condensing chambers F28D15/043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/643 Cylindrical cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/653 characterised by electrically insulating or thermally conductive materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6551 Surfaces specially adapted for heat dissipation or radiation, e.g. fins or coatings
• 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 10/6568 characterised by flow circuits, e.g. loops, located externally to the cells or cell casings
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6569 Fluids undergoing a liquid-gas phase change or transition, e.g. evaporation or condensation heat pipes H01M10/6552
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/663 the system being an air-conditioner or an engine
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/20 Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• 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 50/224 Metals
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/227 Organic material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/276 Inorganic material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/278 : Organic material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/296 : characterised by terminals of battery packs terminals of batteries H01M50/543
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/44 : of tubular or cup-shaped cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 : Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 : Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells

Abstract

A cooling apparatus communicates through a communicating pipe with an inside space of an airtight casing in which a plurality of battery cells are hermetically held. The cooling apparatus and the inside space of the airtight casing are filled with high boiling point coolant. The coolant absorbs heat developed by the plurality of battery cells in the airtight casing so that it evaporates. The evaporated (gaseous) coolant rises toward the cooling apparatus and is condensed in the cooling apparatus. Then the condensed (liquid) coolant returns to around the battery cells by its self-weight. Accordingly, the battery cells are uniformly and efficiently cooled not to have variation in temperature therein.

Claims

1. A battery cooling system comprising:

a battery cell for producing electrical energy;

an airtight casing holding the battery cell in an inside space thereof, the inside space being filled with coolant; and

a cooling apparatus communicating with the inside space of the airtight casing, the cooling apparatus being filled with the coolant,

wherein the coolant contacts the entire surface of the battery cell in the inside space of the airtight casing and absorbs heat developed by the battery cell in the inside space of the airtight casing to evaporate; and

wherein the evaporated coolant moves into the cooling apparatus, and is condensed by the cooling apparatus.

2. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein the evaporated coolant rises to contact the cooling apparatus, and the condensed coolant descends toward the battery cell.

3. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein the cooling apparatus is disposed on an upper side of the battery cell in a vertical direction outside of the airtight casing.

4. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein the cooling apparatus has a cooling pipe in which refrigerant used in an air conditioning refrigerating cycle flows.

5. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein the coolant is cooled in the cooling apparatus by exchanging heat with air flowing outside of the cooling apparatus.

6. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein:

the cooling apparatus communicates with the inside space of the airtight casing through a communicating pipe; and

the communicating pipe includes a double-tube part composed of an inner tube for transporting the coolant from the inside space of the airtight casing into the cooling apparatus and an outer tube for transporting the coolant from the cooling apparatus into the inside space of the airtight casing.

7. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein:

the cooling apparatus communicates with the inside space of the airtight casing through a communicating pipe; and

the communicating pipe has a gas side communicating pipe for transporting the coolant evaporated in the airtight casing and a liquid side communicating pipe for transporting the coolant condensed by the cooling apparatus.

8. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein:

the battery cell includes a plurality of battery cells;

the airtight casing includes a plurality of airtight casings, each air tight casing holding a respective battery cell in the inside space, the plurality of battery cells being electrically connected with one another; and

the cooling apparatus includes a plurality of cooling apparatuses, each cooling apparatus communicating with a respective one of the plurality of airtight casings.

9. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein:

the battery cell includes a plurality of battery cells;

the airtight casing includes a plurality of airtight casings, each airtight casing holding a respective battery cell in the inside space, the plurality of battery cells being electrically connected whith one another; and

the cooling apparatus communicates with each of the inside spaces of the plurality of airtight casings through a plurality of communicating pipes.

10. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein the battery cell includes a plurality of battery cells electrically connected with one another and arranged in parallel with one another in a longitudinal direction thereof in the airtight casing;

each of the plurality of battery cells has a positive side terminal and a negative side terminal provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction thereof; and

the positive side terminal of one of the plurality of battery cells is connected to the negative side terminal of an adjacent one of the plurality of battery cells.

11. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of cylindrical battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing with a staggered arrangement.

12. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of cylindrical battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing.

13. The battery cooling system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing spaced from one another.

14. A battery cooling system comprising:

a battery cell for producing electrical energy;

an airtight casing holding the battery cell in an inside space thereof, the inside space being filled with coolant; and

a cooling apparatus communicating with the inside space of the airtight casing, the cooling apparatus being filled with the coolant,

wherein the coolant absorbs heat developed by the battery cell in the inside space of the airtight casing to evaporate;

wherein the evaporated coolant moves into the cooling apparatus, and is condensed by the cooling apparatus; and

wherein the cooling apparatus is disposed on an upper side of the battery cell in a vertical direction inside of the airtight casing.

15. The battery cooling system of claim 14, wherein the evaporated coolant rises to contact the cooling apparatus, and the condensed coolant descends toward the battery cell.

16. The battery cooling system of claim 14, wherein the cooling apparatus has a cooling pipe in which refrigerant used in an air conditioning refrigerating cycle flows.

17. The battery cooling system of claim 14, wherein the coolant is cooled in the cooling apparatus by exchanging heat with air flowing outside of the cooling apparatus.

18. The battery cooling system of claim 14, wherein the battery cell includes a plurality of battery cells electrically connected with one another and arranged in parallel with one another in a longitudinal direction thereof in the airtight casing;

each of the plurality of battery cells has a positive side terminal and a negative side terminal provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction thereof; and

the positive side terminal of one of the plurality of battery cells is connected to the negative side terminal of an adjacent one of the plurality of battery cells.

19. The battery cooling system of claim 14, wherein a plurality of cylindrical battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing with a staggered arrangement.

20. The battery cooling system of claim 14, wherein a plurality of cylindrical battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing.

21. The battery cooling system of claim 14, wherein a plurality of battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing spaced from one another.

22. A battery cooling system comprising:

battery cell for producing electrical energy;

an airtight casing holding the battery cell in an inside space thereof, the inside space being filled with coolant; and

a cooling apparatus communicating with the inside space of the airtight casing, the cooling apparatus being filled with the coolant,

wherein the coolant absorbs heat developed by the battery cell in the inside space of airtight casing to evaporate;

wherein the evaporated coolant moves into the cooling apparatus, and is condensed by the cooling apparatus; and

wherein the airtight casing is composed of a casing body with an opening that holds the battery cell, and a casing cover that hermetically covers the opening of the casing body and serves as the cooling apparatus.

23. The battery cooling system of claim 22, wherein the evaporated coolant rises to contact the cooling apparatus, and the condensed coolant descends toward the battery cell.

24. The battery cooling system of claim 22, wherein the cooling apparatus has a cooling pipe in which refrigerant used in an air conditioning refrigerating cycle flows.

25. The battery cooling system of claim 22, wherein the coolant is cooled in the cooling apparatus by exchanging heat with air flowing outside of the cooling apparatus.

26. The battery cooling system of claim 22, wherein the battery cell includes a plurality of battery cells electrically connected with one another and arranged in parallel with one another in a longitudinal direction thereof in the airtight casing;

each of the plurality of battery cells has a positive side terminal and a negative side terminal provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction thereof; and

the positive side terminal of one of the plurality of battery cells is connected to the negative side terminal of an adjacent one of the plurality of battery cells.

27. The battery cooling system of claim 22, wherein a plurality of cylindrical battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing with a staggered arrangement.

28. The battery cooling system of claim 22, wherein a plurality of cylindrical battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing.

29. The battery cooling system of claim 22, wherein a plurality of battery cells are hermetically held in the airtight casing spaced from one another.

34. The battery cooling system of claim 23, wherein:

the cooling apparatus has a cooling apparatus casing filled with the liquid coolant and disposed on an upper outside of the airtight casing in the vertical direction, a communicating pipe connecting the cooling apparatus casing and the airtight casing, and a cooling pipe passing through the cooling apparatus casing and transporting low temperature fluid therein; and

the gaseous coolant evaporated around the battery cell in the inside space of the airtight casing moves into the cooling apparatus casing through the communicating pipe due to natural convection, and is cooled by contacting the cooling pipe.

30. A battery cooling system comprising:

a battery cell for producing electrical energy;

an airtight casing holding the battery cell in an inside space thereof, the inside space being filled with coolant; and

a cooling apparatus communicating with the inside space of the airtight casing, the cooling apparatus being filled with the coolant,

wherein the coolant absorbs heat developed by the battery cell in the inside space of airtight casing to evaporate;

wherein the evaporated coolant moves into the cooling apparatus, and is condensed by the cooling apparatus;

the battery cell includes a plurality of battery cells electrically connected with one another and arranged in parallel with one another in a longitudinal direction thereof in the airtight casing;

each of the plurality of battery cells has a positive side terminal and a negative side terminal provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction thereof; and

the positive side terminal of one of the plurality of battery cells is connected to the negative side terminal of an adjacent one of the plurality of battery cells wherein;

the airtight casing has a support base disposed in a lower portion of the airtight casing to divide the inside space into a main inside space and a lower inside space, both spaces being filled with the coolant;

the plurality of battery cells are disposed on the support base in the main inside space; and

a wire connecting the positive side terminal of the one of the plurality of battery cells and the negative side terminal of the adjacent one of the plurality of battery cells is disposed within the lower inside space.

31. A battery cooling system comprising:

a battery cell for producing electrical energy;

an airtight casing holding the battery cell in an inside space thereof, the airtight casing being disposed with a longitudinal direction thereof approximately parallel to a horizontal direction, the inside space of the airtight casing being filled with coolant; and

a cooling apparatus disposed on an upper wall of the airtight casing for cooling the upper wall of the airtight casing,

wherein the coolant in the inside space of the airtight casing contacts the entire surface of the battery cell in the inside space of the airtight casing and absorbs heat around the battery cell to change into gaseous coolant;

wherein the gaseous coolant rises to contact the upper wall of the airtight casing in the inside space and is condensed; and

wherein the condensed coolant returns to a position around the battery cell.

32. The battery cooling system of claim 31, wherein the cooling apparatus includes a cooling pipe in which fluid flows and a thermal conduction member disposed between the cooling pipe and the upper wall of the airtight casing for facilitating heat exchange between the upper wall of the airtight casing and the cooling pipe.

33. A battery cooling system comprising:

a battery cell for producing an electrical energy;

an airtight casing holding the battery cell in an inside space thereof filled with liquid coolant, the liquid coolant contacting the battery cell to absorb heat developed by the battery cell so that the liquid coolant changes into gaseous coolant by the heat; and

a cooling apparatus disposed on an upper side of the battery cell in a vertical direction, for changing the gaseous coolant into the liquid coolant by heat exchange;

wherein the cooling apparatus has a cooling pipe in which fluid flows.

35. The battery cooling system of claim 33, wherein the cooling apparatus has a gas absorbing device disposed in the cooling apparatus casing for trapping molecules contained in the evaporated coolant.