Battery housing for vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery housing for a vehicle, comprising: a lower panel; a side wall member, which is arranged on the upper surface of the lower panel along the periphery of the lower panel and is configured to accommodate a battery module in the internal space of the side wall member; a cooling unit, which is arranged below the lower panel and engaged with the lower surface of the lower panel, and a cooling channel for cooling the battery module is arranged in the lower panel; and a protective panel, which is arranged below the cooling unit and is configured to protect the battery module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery case for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a battery case capable of reducing impact transmitted to the battery case from the outside. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, environmentally friendly vehicles have become increasingly popular as high oil prices and CO2 emission regulations have negatively impacted demand for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. Examples of environmentally friendly vehicles include pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, which automobile manufacturers have commercialized and sold in various models.

[0003] Batteries are installed in environmentally friendly vehicles to provide energy for driving motors. Generally, the batteries are installed in the lower part of the vehicle. In this way, since the battery is set in the lower part of the vehicle, when the lower part of the vehicle collides with a protrusion or object on the road when the vehicle moves, an impact may be caused to the battery. Due to this installation arrangement, there is a problem that accidents may occur, etc. In order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to strengthen the lower housing of the battery. One proposed solution involves a technology of covering the lower part of the battery housing with a separate protective cover. However, in this case, the problem is that the weight of the vehicle increases, the volume energy density decreases, and the assembly capacity of the battery decreases.

[0004] The foregoing content is only intended to help understand the background of the present invention, and is not intended to indicate that the present invention falls within the scope of the prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a battery case for a vehicle capable of reducing impact transmitted to the battery case from the outside.

[0006] According to one aspect, a battery housing for a vehicle is provided, comprising: a lower panel; a side wall member, which is arranged on the upper surface of the lower panel along the periphery of the lower panel and is configured to accommodate a battery module in an internal space of the side wall member; a cooling unit, which is arranged below the lower panel and engaged with the lower surface of the lower panel, and a cooling channel for cooling the battery module is provided in the lower panel; and a protective panel, which is arranged below the cooling unit and is configured to protect the battery module.

[0007] At least one transverse member configured to increase the transverse stiffness of the battery housing and at least one longitudinal member configured to increase the longitudinal stiffness of the battery housing may be disposed in the interior space of the side wall member and above the lower panel, and the battery module may be accommodated between the transverse member and the longitudinal member.

[0008] A heat sink configured to dissipate heat generated by the battery modules may be disposed between the battery modules.

[0009] The heat sink may include an upper end, a central portion, and a lower end.

[0010] The center portion may be disposed between the battery modules, and upper and lower ends may be bent toward one side of the battery module and extend in a horizontal direction.

[0011] The lower end of the heat sink may include: a first horizontal portion and a second horizontal portion, the first horizontal portion being bent toward one side of the battery module and extending in a horizontal direction; the second horizontal portion being bent obliquely downward from the first horizontal portion and extending horizontally from one end of the inclined bent portion toward one side of the battery module.

[0012] The second horizontal portion may extend over a length greater than a length over which the first horizontal portion extends.

[0013] A plurality of joint portions are formed between the cooling channel and the lower panel, wherein an upper surface of the cooling channel and a lower surface of the lower panel are joined to each other at the joint portions.

[0014] A central portion of the heat sink may be disposed between the engagement portions.

[0015] The cooling channel may include a plurality of arched portions, each of the arched portions having a downwardly convex shape.

[0016] Each arched portion may be disposed at a position aligned with a position at which a central portion of a corresponding heat sink is disposed.

[0017] The battery case may further include a shock absorber provided on an upper surface of the protection panel and provided below each of the coupling portions such that a force transmitted from the outside is absorbed by the shock absorber.

[0018] The shock absorber may be formed from an elastomer.

[0019] The cooling channel may be coupled to a lower surface of the lower panel and form a closed cross-section with the lower surface of the lower panel to form a flow channel along which cooling water flows, and the flow channel may be parallel to an arrangement direction of the battery module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0021] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a battery case for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the features of the detailed structure of the battery case according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3A process of dispersing external impact and releasing the external impact to the outside through cooling channels and cooling fins in a battery housing according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0024] Figure 4 shows a process of dispersing external impact through a shock absorber and a heat sink and releasing the external impact to the outside in a battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0025] Figure 5 is a diagram showing the effect of dispersing external impact when the same external impact is applied to a conventional battery case and a battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specific embodiments

[0026] The terms used herein are only used to illustrate specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "one" and "the" are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates. It is further understood that when "including" and / or "comprising" are used in this specification, it refers to the existence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but does not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or their combinations. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items. Throughout the specification, unless clearly described to the contrary, the term "including" and its variations such as "including" or "having" will be understood to imply the inclusion of the elements described but do not exclude any other elements. In addition, the terms "unit", "-machine", "-device" and "module" described in the specification refer to the unit that processes at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware or software and combinations thereof.

[0027] In addition, the control logic of the present invention may be embodied as a non-transitory computer-readable medium on a computer-readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller, etc. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disk (CD)-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash drive, smart card, and optical data storage device. The computer-readable medium may also be distributed in a network-connected computer system so that the computer-readable medium is stored and executed in a distributed manner, such as by a telematics server or a controller area network (CAN).

[0028] Hereinafter, a battery case for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a battery case for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2is a cross-sectional view schematically showing features of a detailed structure of a battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 A process of dispersing an external impact through a cooling channel and a cooling fin and releasing the external impact to the outside in a battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 4 A process of dispersing an external impact through a shock absorber and a heat sink and releasing the external impact to the outside in a battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, the battery case according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a lower panel 100 , a side wall member 200 , a cooling unit 300 , and a protection panel 400 .

[0031] The lower panel 100 may have a flat plate shape. According to the present embodiment, the lower panel 100 may be made of aluminum. Although in this embodiment, aluminum is used only as a material for reducing the weight of the entire battery case by reducing the weight of the lower panel 100, various materials such as aluminum may be used to form the lower panel 100.

[0032] The sidewall member 200 may be disposed on an upper surface of the lower panel 100 along a circumference of the lower panel 100 , and accommodate the battery module 500 in an inner space of the sidewall member 200 .

[0033] In particular, at least one transverse member 210 for enhancing the transverse rigidity of the battery housing and at least one longitudinal member 220 for enhancing the longitudinal rigidity of the battery housing may be provided in the inner space of the side wall member 200 above the lower panel 100. The battery module 500 may be accommodated in the space defined between the transverse member 210 and the longitudinal member 220. In an embodiment, the transverse member 210 and the longitudinal member 220 may be made of aluminum to reduce the weight of the battery housing. However, this is only one embodiment, and various materials such as aluminum may also be used to form the transverse member 210 and the longitudinal member 220.

[0034] The cooling unit 300 is disposed below the lower panel 100 and is used to cool the battery module 500. A cooling channel 310 may be formed in the cooling unit 300 so that cooling water for cooling the battery module 500 flows through the cooling channel 310. The cooling unit 300 may be coupled to the lower surface of the lower panel 100. Here, the cooling channel 310 is coupled to the lower surface of the lower panel 100 and forms a closed cross-section with the lower surface of the lower panel 100, thereby forming a flow channel along which the cooling water flows. The flow channel may be parallel to the arrangement direction of the battery module 500 so that the cooling water may flow through the corresponding flow channel in one direction.

[0035] In other words, in the battery case according to the present invention, the battery case and the cooling unit including the cooling channel for cooling the battery are formed integrally with each other rather than separately. Therefore, the volume of the entire battery system can be reduced, and the weight of the entire vehicle can be reduced.

[0036] In particular, the cooling channel 310 may include a plurality of arched portions 314 each having a downwardly convex shape. In an embodiment, each arched portion 314 may be formed at a position aligned with a position of a central portion 620 of a heat sink to be described below.

[0037] In addition, a plurality of joints 312 may be formed between the cooling channel 310 and the lower panel 100, where the upper surface of the cooling channel 310 and the lower surface of the lower panel 100 are joined to each other. In an embodiment, a central portion 620 of each heat sink 600 to be described below may be disposed between corresponding adjacent joints 312.

[0038] Thus, according to the present invention, the central portion 620 of each heat sink 600 is disposed between corresponding adjacent joints 312. Figure 3 As shown, when external force is transmitted to the arched portion 314 of the battery case, the external force can be dispersed first due to the structural characteristics of the arched portion 314, and the dispersed force is released to the outside through the central portion 620 of the heat sink. Thus, external impact can be prevented from being transmitted to the battery module 500.

[0039] In addition, regarding the size of the arched portion 314 of the cooling channel 310, the width L of the arched portion 314 is greater than the distance H between the lowermost end of the cooling channel 310 and the lower panel 100. In one embodiment, H may be 1 / 3 of L or more.

[0040] like Figure 3 As shown, the heat sink 600 may be disposed between the battery modules 500 to dissipate heat generated by the battery modules 500. Specifically, each heat sink 600 may include an upper end 610, a central portion 620, and a lower end 630. Here, the central portion 620 may be inserted into the space between the corresponding battery modules 500. The upper end 610 and the lower end 630 may be bent toward one side of the battery module 500 and extend in a horizontal direction.

[0041] In particular, the lower end 630 of the heat sink 600 may include a first horizontal portion 632 and a second horizontal portion 634, wherein the first horizontal portion 632 is bent toward one side of the battery module 500 and extends in the horizontal direction, and the second horizontal portion 634 is bent obliquely downward from the first horizontal portion 632 and extends horizontally from one end of the obliquely bent portion toward one side of the battery module 500. In an embodiment, the second horizontal portion 634 extends for a length greater than the length of the first horizontal portion 632.

[0042] The protection panel 400 is disposed below the cooling unit 300 and serves to protect the battery module 500. In particular, the shock absorber 410 may be disposed on the upper surface of the protection panel 400 to absorb the force transmitted from the outside to the battery case. Figure 4 As shown, the damper 410 may be disposed below the joint portion 312 formed by the joint of the upper surface of the cooling channel 310 and the lower surface of the lower panel 100. In one embodiment, the damper 410 may be formed of an elastic body.

[0043] In particular, regarding the function of the shock absorber 410, when an external impact is applied to the battery housing, such as Figure 4 As shown, the shock absorber 410 can prevent stress from being concentrated on a part and disperse the external force. The dispersed force is released to the outside through the heat sink 600. In this way, the shock absorber 410 can prevent external impact from being transmitted to the battery module 500.

[0044] Each battery module 500 may be a high-voltage battery installed in an environmentally friendly vehicle, and may play a role in providing power to a driving unit (eg, an electric motor) for driving the vehicle. Figure 2 As shown, the heat sink 600 may be disposed between the battery modules 500 to disperse the heat generated by the battery modules 500. In particular, the second horizontal portion 634 of the lower end of each heat sink 600 contacts the upper surface of the lower panel 100 coupled to the cooling channel 310, so that the second horizontal portion 634 can be cooled by the cooling water flowing through the cooling channel 310, thereby cooling the corresponding battery module 500. In addition, the heat sink 600 is preferably made of a material having high thermal conductivity.

[0045] Figure 5 is a diagram showing the effect of dispersing external impact when the same external impact is applied to a conventional battery case and a battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 As shown in the description of the battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the cooling unit has an arched portion, when an external impact is applied to the battery case, the arched portion can disperse the impact and prevent the impact from being directly transmitted to the battery module, thereby enhancing the stability of the battery.

[0046] As described above, in the battery case according to the present invention, when force is transmitted from the outside to the battery case, the force can be dispersed first due to the structural characteristics of the arched portion. The dispersed force can be released to the outside through the central portion of the heat sink. As a result, the amount of impact transmitted to the battery module can be reduced. Therefore, the stability of the battery module can be enhanced.

[0047] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A battery housing for a vehicle, comprising: Lower panel; a side wall member disposed on an upper surface of the lower panel along a periphery of the lower panel and configured to accommodate a battery module in an inner space of the side wall member; a cooling unit, disposed below the lower panel and engaged with a lower surface of the lower panel, wherein a cooling channel for cooling the battery module is disposed in the cooling unit; as well as a protection panel disposed below the cooling unit and configured to protect the battery module, wherein a heat sink configured to dissipate heat generated by the battery modules is disposed between the battery modules, The heat sink comprises an upper end, a central portion and a lower end, wherein the central portion is disposed between the battery modules. The cooling channel includes a plurality of arched portions, each of which has a downwardly convex shape, and Each of the arched portions is disposed at a position aligned with a position where a central portion of a corresponding heat sink is disposed.

2. The battery case according to claim 1, wherein: At least one transverse member configured to increase the transverse stiffness of the battery housing and at least one longitudinal member configured to increase the longitudinal stiffness of the battery housing are disposed in the interior space of the side wall member and above the lower panel, and the battery module is accommodated between the transverse member and the longitudinal member.

3. The battery case according to claim 1, in, The upper end and the lower end are bent toward one side of the battery module and extend in a horizontal direction.

4. The battery case according to claim 3, wherein: The lower end of the heat sink includes: a first horizontal portion and a second horizontal portion, the first horizontal portion is bent toward one side of the battery module and extends in a horizontal direction; the second horizontal portion is bent obliquely downward from the first horizontal portion and extends horizontally from one end of the inclined bent portion toward one side of the battery module.

5. The battery case according to claim 4, wherein: The second horizontal portion extends over a length greater than a length of the first horizontal portion.

6. The battery case according to claim 4, in, forming a plurality of joint portions between the cooling channel and the lower panel, at which an upper surface of the cooling channel and a lower surface of the lower panel are joined to each other, and Wherein, the central portion of the heat sink is arranged between the joint portions. 7 . The battery case according to claim 6 , further comprising a shock absorber provided on an upper surface of the protection panel and below each of the joints so that a force transmitted from the outside is absorbed by the shock absorber.

8. The battery case according to claim 7, wherein: The shock absorber is formed of an elastic body.

9. The battery case according to claim 1, wherein: The cooling channel is joined to a lower surface of the lower panel and forms a closed cross section with the lower surface of the lower panel, thereby forming a flow channel along which cooling water flows, and the flow channel is parallel to an arrangement direction of the battery modules.

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