System and method for cooling a battery pack

• US 6,422,027 B1
• Filed: 05/03/2001
• Issued: 07/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Tech
• Inventors: Coates, Calvin Edward Jr., Brost, Ronald David
• Primary Examiner(s): JIANG, CHEN WEN
• Application Number:
  US09/848,031
• Time in Patent Office: 446 Days
• Field of Search: 622/592, 621/85, 622/01, 622/07, 622/44, 307/9.1, 429/120, 429/62
• US Class Current: 62/259.2
• 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 10/647 Prismatic or flat cells, e.g. pouch cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6557 arranged between the cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6564 using compressed gas
• 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: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery cooling system 10 for use with a vehicle 14 including several batteries or battery modules 16-38 which provide power to the vehicle 12. The system 10 includes a refrigerant gas channeling or conduit system which is effective to store, compress, expand and circulate refrigerant gas through the battery pack 12 and the system 10. A first “high pressure” conduit system, having several tubes or conduits that are disposed throughout the vehicle 14, is used to selectively carry and transport pressurized or compressed refrigerant gas to the battery pack 12 and includes a pump 42, a heat exchanger 44, expansion valves 46-52, and conduits 54, 56, 58, 60 and 62. A second “low pressure” conduit system is used to circulate the “expanded” or decompressed refrigerant gas throughout the battery pack 12 and to return the refrigerant gas to pump 42 for recompression. The low pressure conduit system includes conduits 64-78 which are in contact with one or more sides of the various battery modules 16-38 and which absorb and/or dissipate heat from battery modules 16-38, and conduits 80-84 which return the circulated refrigerant gas to pump 42.

Claims

1. A system for cooling a battery pack of the type used within a vehicle, said system comprising:

a source of refrigerant gas;

a pump for compressing said refrigerant gas;

a high pressure conduit system which is fluidly coupled to said pump and which delivers said compressed refrigerant gas to said battery pack;

a plurality of expansion valves which are fluidly coupled to said high pressure conduit system and which is effective to decompress said refrigerant gas; and

a low pressure conduit system which is fluidly coupled to said plurality of expansion values, which receives said decompressed refrigerant gas and circulates said refrigerant gas throughout said battery pack, thereby relatively rapidly and evenly cooling said battery pack.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said low pressure conduit system is further fluidly coupled to said pump and is effective to return said circulated refrigerant gas to said pump.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said battery pack comprises a plurality of battery modules, and wherein said low pressure conduit system includes a plurality of conduits which contact said plurality of battery modules.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein at least one of said plurality of conduits has a convoluted shape.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said convoluted shape is serpentine.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein each of said plurality of battery modules comprises a casing and wherein a least a portion of said plurality of conduits are integrally formed within said casings.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of expansion valves comprises four expansion valves.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a heat exchanger which is fluidly coupled to said pump and which is effective to remove thermal energy from said refrigerant gas.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said heat exchanger is disposed within said high pressure conduit system.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein said heat exchanger is disposed within said low pressure conduit system.

11. A system for cooling a battery pack of the type used within a vehicle, said system comprising:

a source of refrigerant gas;

a pump for compressing said refrigerant gas;

a heat exchanger which is fluidly coupled to and receives compressed refrigerant gas from said pump;

a plurality of expansion valves which are fluidly coupled to and receive compressed refrigerant gas from said heat exchanger, said plurality of expansion valve being effective to selectively decompress said refrigerant gas;

a plurality of low-pressure conduits which are selectively disposed throughout said battery pack, said plurality of low-pressure conduits being fluidly coupled to said plurality of expansion valves, and being further effective to receive said decompressed refrigerant gas and circulate said refrigerant gas throughout said battery pack, thereby relatively rapidly and evenly cooling said battery pack; and

wherein each of said plurality of expansion valves is coupled to a pair of low pressure conduits.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said plurality of conduits are convoluted in shape.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein said plurality of conduits are serpentine in shape.

14. A method for cooling a battery pack of the type including a plurality of battery modules, said method comprising the steps of:

compressing refrigerant gas;

providing at least one high pressure conduit;

delivering said compressed refrigerant gas to said battery pack by use of at least one high pressure conduit;

decompressing said refrigerant gas; and

channeling said decompressed refrigerant gas throughout said battery pack, thereby relatively rapidly and evenly cooling said plurality of battery modules.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

forming a passages within said battery modules; and

channeling said decompressed refrigerant gas through said passages, thereby relatively rapidly and evenly cooling said plurality of battery modules.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of conduits;

disposing said plurality of conduits between said plurality of battery modules within said battery pack; and

channeling said decompressed refrigerant gas through said plurality of conduits, thereby relatively rapidly and evenly cooling said plurality of battery modules.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said plurality of conduits are convoluted in shape.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said plurality of conduits are serpentine in shape.