Electric power source providing a battery case with an intermediary duct

• US 7,998,610 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2007
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujii, Kazuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ruddock; Ula C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chuo; Tony
• Application Number:
  US11/882,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20080026284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,478 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 429/120
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/643 Cylindrical cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/651 characterised by parameters specified by a numeric value or mathematical formula, e.g. ratios, sizes or concentrations
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/652 characterised by gradients for achieving a desired temperature gradient H01M10/617
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6563 with forced flow, e.g. by blowers
• 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 6/5038 Heating or cooling of cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

An electric power source containing a plurality of batteries stacked in two or more tiers in a battery case, which is provided with an intermediary duct between a first sub holder case and a second sub holder case. A first outer duct is located outside the first sub holder case and a second outer duct is located outside the second sub holder case. The power source is so designed that cooling air is blown to the intermediary duct, the holder case and the outer duct, thus cooling the batteries in the holder case. Further, the power source has a partition disposed inside the intermediary duct, with a first intermediary sub duct being connected to the first sub holder case and a second intermediary duct being connected to the second sub holder case.

Claims

1. An electric power source comprising:

a plurality of batteries;

a battery case in which the plurality of batteries are stacked in two or more tiers, the battery case comprising a holder case, the holder case comprising;

an intermediary duct for conducting cooling air;

a first sub holder case and a second sub holder case, wherein the intermediary duct is disposed between the first sub holder case and the second sub holder case in a direction of stacking the batteries; and

an outer duct comprising a first outer duct provided outside the first sub holder case, and a second outer duct provided outside the second sub holder case;

wherein the first sub holder case and the second sub holder case are disposed between the first outer duct and the second outer duct,

wherein the intermediary duct is disposed between the first sub holder case and the second sub holder case so that cooling air can be blown to the intermediary duct, the holder case and the outer duct, which are so structured as to cool the batteries contained in the holder case, and

wherein a partition is disposed inside the intermediary duct which is divided by the partition into a first intermediary sub duct disposed to the first sub holder case side and a second intermediary sub duct disposed to the second sub holder case side, so that the first intermediary sub duct is linked to the first sub holder case, while the second intermediary sub duct is linked to the second sub holder case, and

wherein the first sub holder case contains the batteries in the greater number of tiers than does the second sub holder case, and wherein an inside width in the first intermediary sub duct is larger than an inside width in the second intermediary sub duct.

2. The electric power source as recited in claim 1, wherein the power source is so constructed and arranged that the cooling air is allowed to flow from the intermediary duct through the holder case to be exhausted into the outer duct, so that the batteries contained in the holder case are cooled, wherein the air is blown through the first intermediary sub duct to the first sub holder case, and through the second intermediary sub duct to the second sub holder case.

3. The electric power source as recited in claim 1, wherein the batteries are contained in “

m”

number of tiers in the first sub holder case and in “

n”

number of tiers in the second sub holder case, wherein the ratio of the inside width in the first intermediary sub duct to the inside width in the second intermediary sub duct is m to n.

4. The electric power source as recited in claim 3, wherein the batteries are contained in three tiers in the first sub holder case and in two tiers in the second sub holder case, wherein the ratio of the inside width in the first intermediary sub duct to the inside width in the second intermediary sub duct is 3 to 2.

5. The electric power source case as recited in claim 1, wherein the partition is disposed, inside the intermediary duct, in a parallel relationship with respect to a blowing direction of the cooling air.

6. The electric power source as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the first and second sub holder cases contains batteries in a plurality of tiers inside a pair of opposed walls, and the pair of opposed walls are closed, at inlet and outlet sides thereof, by an inlet wall and an exhaust wall to form a chamber that contains the batteries therein,

wherein the inlet wall has an inlet hole opened at lateral portions thereof, so that the cooling air coming inwardly through the inlet hole may be blown into a space between the batteries and the opposed walls,

wherein the exhaust wall has an exhaust hole at a center portion thereof, so that the cooling air blown along the surface of the batteries may be blown outwardly through the center portion, and

wherein each of the pair of opposed walls has a ridge protruding inwardly toward and between the batteries which are disposed adjacently to each other.

7. The electric power source as recited in claim 6, wherein in each of the pair of opposed walls, an inward protruding height of the ridge is higher in a leeward direction than in a windward direction, toward and between the batteries which are disposed adjacently to each other.

8. The electric power source as recited in claim 6, wherein the first sub holder case contains, in the chamber, a first battery, a second battery and a third battery in three tiers in a blowing direction of the cooling air, and

wherein each of the pair of opposed walls is provided with a first ridge toward and between the first battery and the second battery, and with a second ridge toward and between the second battery and the third battery, wherein the second ridge is made higher than the first ridge.

9. The electric power source as recited in claim 8, wherein, in each of the opposed walls, both of the lateral surfaces of the second ridge are so curved as to matingly face the surface of a nearest one of the batteries.

10. The electric power source as recited in claim 6, wherein the inner surface in a vicinity of a boundary between the exhaust wall and the pair of opposed walls is so curved as to matingly face the surface of a nearest one of the batteries, with an air-blowing space being provided with respect to the battery.