A battery tray and a battery box

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery tray and a battery box. The battery tray includes a frame assembly, a bottom plate, a front mounting beam, and a rear mounting beam; the frame assembly includes a left frame and a right frame, the left frame and the right frame are formed by bending frame profiles, and the two frames are provided with main channels extending in the front-rear direction at the inner side surfaces; the bottom plate has auxiliary channels, and the auxiliary channels are respectively communicated with the communication ports of the main channels on the left frame and the right frame; the front mounting beam and the rear mounting beam are respectively arranged on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate, and the mounting beam has a mounting beam channel for communicating with the main channel; the mounting beam channel, the main channel, and the auxiliary channel form a complete cooling path. In the present invention, the frame assembly is composed of bent profiles, transferring the weld seams to the middle position on the side of the battery tray, which is more convenient for welding compared to the four corners, improving the welding quality, and can also reduce the number of weld seams. At least there are only two weld seams at the minimum, thereby reducing the probability of airtight failure of the weld seams in the frame assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery tray and a battery box. Background Art

[0002] With the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, the battery, as the power unit of an electric vehicle, may cause spontaneous combustion when the battery temperature rises, resulting in vehicle scrapping. Therefore, it is necessary to control the battery temperature to ensure the overall safety of the vehicle. Most passenger cars use ternary lithium batteries, but due to their poor high-temperature resistance and active characteristics, a liquid cooling system is required for cooling to improve the safety, service life, and performance of the product. In the field of commercial vehicles, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells are used, which have strong high-temperature resistance and long life, but their energy density is lower than that of ternary lithium batteries. To further increase the energy density of a single LFP cell, the current common practice is to make the cell larger. However, this approach has the drawback that the heat dissipation performance of the cell deteriorates, and high-temperature alarms are likely to occur in summer or hot regions, affecting the performance of the product. Therefore, it is necessary to add a liquid cooling system to the LFP battery with large cells.

[0003] The battery box with a tray structure has better operational convenience compared to traditional boxes in aspects such as module installation, wiring harness arrangement, and after-sales maintenance, and it is also convenient to set up a mouth organ tube at the bottom for cooling, so it has a wide range of applications. However, most of the existing battery trays have profiles separately provided on each side of the frame and use a welding method to weld the four corners of the frame. Since weld defects can affect the airtightness of the product, reducing the number of welds can reduce the probability of airtightness failure. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a battery tray with fewer welds at the frame to improve the airtightness of the battery tray at the frame. Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a battery box with better airtightness to improve the airtightness of the battery tray in the battery box at the frame.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the battery tray of the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A battery tray, comprising:

[0007] A frame assembly, including a left frame and a right frame, the left frame and the right frame are formed by bending a frame profile, the two ends of the left and right frames are bent inward, and a main flow channel extending in the front-rear direction is provided on the inner side surface of the two frames. One of them is an inlet main flow channel for liquid inlet, and the other is an outlet main flow channel for liquid outlet. The main flow channel has a communication port facing inward;

[0008] A bottom plate, having a secondary flow channel, and the secondary flow channel is respectively communicated with the inlet main flow channel and the outlet main flow channel through the communication port;

[0009] A front mounting beam and a rear mounting beam for fixedly mounting a battery are respectively arranged on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate. The front mounting beam and / or the rear mounting beam have a mounting beam flow channel communicating with the main flow channel. The mounting beam flow channel has an opening for communicating with an external cooling pipeline. At least one mounting beam flow channel is an inlet mounting beam flow channel communicating with the inlet main flow channel, and at least one is an outlet mounting beam flow channel communicating with the outlet main flow channel.

[0010] The beneficial effects of the battery tray of the present invention are as follows: In the battery tray of the present invention, a main flow channel is provided on the frame assembly, and a secondary flow channel communicating with the main flow channel is provided at the bottom plate. The main flow channel is further communicated with the mounting beam flow channels in the mounting beams arranged on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate, forming a complete cooling path and improving the heat dissipation performance of the battery tray. Moreover, in the present invention, the frame assembly is composed of bent profiles, and the weld seams are transferred to the middle position on the side of the battery tray, which is more convenient for welding compared to the four corners, improving the welding quality and also being able to reduce the number of weld seams. At least only two weld seams are present at the minimum, thereby reducing the probability of airtight failure of the weld seams in the frame assembly.

[0011] Further, both the inlet mounting beam flow channel and the outlet mounting beam flow channel are arranged at the front mounting beam, and the rear mounting beam is welded and sealed with the rear end of the main flow channel.

[0012] Further, the upper surface of the rear mounting beam is flush with the upper surface of the frame assembly and is welded by friction stir welding. Welding the rear mounting beam inside the frame assembly by friction stir welding can reduce the risk of airtight failure of the weld seams at the rear of the frame.

[0013] Further, the secondary flow channel is a straight flow channel extending in the left - right direction, and the secondary flow channels in the same bottom plate are arranged in parallel in the front - rear direction. By shunting through multiple parallel - arranged secondary flow channels, the flow path of the coolant can be reduced, avoiding the phenomenon of excessive temperature of the coolant at the rear end caused by the cooling circuit process and achieving the temperature balance of the whole package.

[0014] Further, a U - shaped groove with an opening facing downward is provided on the frame assembly at the part opposite to the opening of the mounting beam flow channel. A water nozzle communicating with the mounting beam flow channel is arranged in the U - shaped groove, and a U - shaped plug plate with a shape matching the U - shaped groove is welded in the U - shaped groove of the frame assembly to seal the frame assembly. Sealing the frame assembly with the U - shaped plug plate can prevent external water vapor from entering the inside of the frame assembly when the vehicle wades through water and rust the frame assembly. And setting the U - shaped plug plate can also increase the structural strength of the frame assembly at this part.

[0015] Further, mounting feet are provided on the left frame and the right frame, and the mounting feet are integrally provided with the left frame and the right frame.

[0016] Further, lifting nuts are provided on the side of the mounting feet. It is convenient for transporting the battery box.

[0017] Furthermore, a positioning step is provided at the connection where the frame assembly is connected to the bottom plate. The bottom plate determines its position in the height direction and the left - right direction relative to the frame assembly through the positioning step. The provision of the positioning step at the connection between the frame assembly and the bottom plate facilitates the installation and positioning of the bottom plate.

[0018] Furthermore, a circular protrusion surrounding the frame assembly is provided at the top of the frame assembly. The circular protrusion constitutes a limiting structure for limiting the sealing ring or a glue - blocking structure for blocking the sealant. The circular protrusion at the top of the battery box frame assembly facilitates glue - blocking or the setting of the sealing ring.

[0019] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the battery box of the present invention is as follows:

[0020] The battery box includes a battery tray and an upper cover. The upper cover covers the battery tray, and the battery tray is in sealed cooperation with the upper cover. The battery tray includes:

[0021] A frame assembly, including a left frame and a right frame. The left frame and the right frame are formed by bending frame profiles. The two ends of the left and right frames are bent inward. Along the front - rear direction, a main flow channel is provided on the inner side surface of the two frames. One of them is an inlet main flow channel for liquid inlet, and the other is an outlet main flow channel for liquid outlet. The main flow channel has a communication port facing inward.

[0022] A bottom plate, having a sub - flow channel. The sub - flow channel is respectively communicated with the inlet main flow channel and the outlet main flow channel through the communication port.

[0023] A front mounting beam and a rear mounting beam, for fixedly mounting the battery, are respectively arranged on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate. The front mounting beam and / or the rear mounting beam have mounting beam flow channels communicated with the main flow channel. The mounting beam flow channels have openings for communicating with the external cooling pipeline. At least one of the mounting beam flow channels is an inlet mounting beam flow channel communicated with the inlet main flow channel, and at least one is an outlet mounting beam flow channel communicated with the outlet main flow channel.

[0024] The beneficial effects of the battery box of the present invention are as follows: In the present invention, the battery tray is provided with a main flow channel on the frame assembly, and a sub - flow channel communicated with the main flow channel is provided at the bottom plate. The main flow channel is further communicated with the mounting beam flow channels in the mounting beams arranged on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate, forming a complete cooling path, which improves the heat dissipation performance of the battery tray. Moreover, in the present invention, the frame assembly is composed of bent profiles, transferring the weld seams to the middle position on the side of the battery tray, which is more convenient for welding compared with the four corners, improving the welding quality, and can also reduce the number of weld seams. At least two weld seams are the least, thereby reducing the probability of airtight failure of the weld seams in the frame assembly.

[0025] Furthermore, both the inlet mounting beam flow channel and the outlet mounting beam flow channel are arranged at the front mounting beam, and the rear mounting beam is welded and sealed with the rear end of the main flow channel.

[0026] Further, the upper surface of the rear mounting beam is flush with the upper surface of the frame assembly and is welded by friction stir welding. The rear mounting beam is welded inside the frame assembly by friction stir welding, which can reduce the risk of airtight failure of the weld at the rear of the frame.

[0027] Further, the secondary flow channel is a straight flow channel extending in the left-right direction, and the secondary flow channels in the same bottom plate are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. By diverting through multiple side-by-side secondary flow channels, the flow path of the coolant can be reduced, avoiding the phenomenon of excessive temperature of the coolant at the rear end caused by the cooling circuit process, and achieving the temperature balance of the whole package.

[0028] Further, a U-shaped groove with an opening facing downward is provided at the part of the frame assembly opposite to the opening of the flow channel of the mounting beam. A water nozzle communicating with the flow channel of the mounting beam is provided in the U-shaped groove, and a U-shaped plug plate whose shape fits the U-shaped groove is welded in the U-shaped groove of the frame assembly to seal the frame assembly. Sealing the frame assembly with the U-shaped plug plate can prevent external water vapor from entering the inside of the frame assembly when the vehicle wades through water, rusting the frame assembly. And setting the U-shaped plug plate can also increase the structural strength of the frame assembly at this position.

[0029] Further, mounting feet are provided on the left frame and the right frame, and the mounting feet are integrally provided with the left frame and the right frame.

[0030] Further, lifting nuts are provided on the side of the mounting feet. It is convenient to transport the battery box.

[0031] Further, a positioning step is provided at the connection of the frame assembly and the bottom plate, and the bottom plate determines its position in the height direction and the left-right direction with respect to the frame assembly through the positioning step. Providing a positioning step at the connection of the frame assembly and the bottom plate facilitates the installation and positioning of the bottom plate.

[0032] Further, a circular protrusion surrounding the frame assembly is provided at the top of the frame assembly, and the circular protrusion constitutes a limiting structure for limiting the sealing ring or a glue-blocking structure for blocking the sealing glue. The circular protrusion at the top of the battery box frame assembly facilitates glue blocking or setting the sealing ring. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment of the battery tray in the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the left frame in a specific embodiment of the battery tray in the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the profile forming the left frame in a specific embodiment of the battery tray in the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of a specific embodiment of the battery tray in the present invention;

[0037] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the splicing of the left frame and the bottom plate of a specific embodiment of the battery tray in the present invention;

[0038] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure at the water nozzle of a specific embodiment of the battery tray in the present invention (the battery tray is inverted);

[0039] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure at the mounting feet of a specific embodiment of the battery tray in the present invention;

[0040] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a specific embodiment of the battery box in the present invention;

[0041] Explanation of reference numerals: 1 - frame assembly; 11 - left frame; 12 - right frame; 13 - mounting feet; 131 - lifting nut; 14 - main runner side wall; 15 - U-shaped plug; 16 - baffle; 17 - through-hole support; 18 - nut; 19 - main runner; 21 - front mounting beam; 22 - rear mounting beam; 23 - mounting beam runner; 24 - module mounting nut; 3 - bottom plate; 31 - liquid cooling plate; 32 - sub-runner; 4 - annular protrusion; 5 - water nozzle; 101 - battery tray; 102 - upper cover. Detailed implementation manners

[0042] The following further describes the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] In a specific embodiment of the battery tray of the present invention, as Figure 1 shown, the battery tray of the present invention mainly consists of a frame assembly 1, a bottom plate 3, and front and rear mounting beams provided on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate 3. Among them, two mounting beam runners 23 are provided on the front mounting beam 21, and are communicated with the external cooling pipeline through a water nozzle 5 provided at a part of the frame assembly 1 opposite to the opening of the mounting beam runner. A main runner 19 is provided on the frame assembly 1, and a sub-runner 32 communicated with the main runner 19 is provided on the bottom plate 3. The main runner 19, the sub-runner 32, and the mounting beam runner 23 form a complete cooling path.

[0044] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, in this embodiment, the frame assembly 1 includes a left frame 11 and a right frame 12. Both the left frame 11 and the right frame 12 are bent from frame profiles and are of an overall U-shaped structure. Moreover, the left frame 11 and the right frame 12 are symmetric in structure. The two frames are connected by butting in the width direction of the battery tray to jointly form the frame assembly 1.

[0045] Taking the left frame 11 as an example, the cross-section of the profile used to make the left frame 11 in this embodiment is as follows Figure 3 shown. The profile includes a main body part in the middle. On the inner side of the main body part, two main runner side walls 14 forming the main runner 19 are provided, and the main runner side walls 14 extend horizontally inward. After machining and cutting off the main runner side walls 14 at both ends of the frame profile, a main runner 19 located at the middle position of the long side of the battery tray is formed between the main runner side walls 14. One of them is the liquid inlet main runner, and the other is the liquid outlet main runner. A communication port facing inward is formed between the ends of the two main runner side walls 14, and positioning steps for plugging into the bottom plate 3 are provided at the communication port of the two main runner side walls 14.

[0046] The frame profile has an outer part forming the mounting feet 13 on the outer side of the main body part. After intermittently cutting off the redundant outer parts, the spaced-apart mounting feet 13 are formed. Hoisting nuts 131 are arranged on the side surfaces of the mounting feet 13 by press riveting and welding, which is convenient for the transportation of the battery box.

[0047] As Figure 1 、 Figure 4 and Figure 5 shown, in this embodiment, the bottom plate 3 is composed of three liquid cooling plates 31. The three liquid cooling plates 31 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. The left and right ends of the liquid cooling plate 31 are respectively plugged into the main runner side walls 14 of the frame assembly 1, and the bottom plate 3 is positioned in the height direction and the left-right direction by the positioning steps of the main runner side walls 14. A plurality of sub-runners 32 extending in the left-right direction are provided in each liquid cooling plate 31. After the liquid cooling plate 31 is inserted into the frame assembly 1, the left and right ends of the sub-runners 32 are respectively communicated with the main runners 19 of the left frame 11 and the right frame 12. The dimension of the bottom plate 3 in the front-rear direction is the same as the length of the main runner 19. By shunting through the plurality of sub-runners 32 arranged in parallel on the bottom plate 3, the flow path of the coolant can be reduced, avoiding the phenomenon of too high temperature of the rear-end coolant caused by the cooling circuit process, and realizing the temperature balance of the whole package.

[0048] The front and rear mounting beams 22 of the battery tray are respectively installed on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate 3, which are mainly used to install the battery modules. As Figure 1 shown, the rear mounting beam 22 is closely attached to the rear side of the bottom plate 3, and seals the rear-end openings of the main runners 19 of the left and right frames 12. At the same time, the upper surface of the rear mounting beam 22 is flush with the upper surface of the frame assembly 1. Therefore, it is also convenient to weld with the frame assembly 1 by friction stir welding, which can reduce the risk of airtight failure of the weld at the rear side of the frame. Two mounting beam runners 23 extending in the front-rear direction are provided in the front mounting beam 21. One of them is the liquid inlet mounting beam runner communicated with the liquid inlet main runner, and the other is the liquid outlet mounting beam runner communicated with the liquid outlet main runner. The front end of the mounting beam runner 23 extends to the frame assembly 1 and is communicated with the water nozzle 5 provided on the frame assembly 1.

[0049] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 6 As shown in and, a U-shaped groove with an opening facing downward is provided at the corresponding position of the front end of the installation beam runner 23 on the frame assembly 1. A vertical baffle 16 is welded inside the frame assembly 1 in the U-shaped groove. An inner hole through which the water supply nozzle 5 passes is provided on the baffle 16, and the water nozzle 5 is welded in the inner hole of the baffle 16. A U-shaped plug plate 15 whose shape fits the U-shaped groove is welded in the U-shaped groove of the frame assembly 1. By sealing the frame assembly 1 with the U-shaped plug plate 15, it can prevent external water vapor from entering the inside of the frame assembly 1 when the vehicle wades through water, rusting the frame assembly 1, and setting the U-shaped plug plate 15 can also increase the structural strength of the frame assembly 1 at this position.

[0050] As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 5 As shown in and, as a preferred embodiment, in order to enhance the heat preservation performance of the battery box, the side wall 14 of the main runner located below in the frame profile is slightly higher than the bottom of the main body part. After the liquid cooling plate 31 is inserted into the frame assembly 1, the bottom plate 3 formed by the liquid cooling plate 31 is higher than the bottom surface of the frame assembly 1. Therefore, in the frame assembly 1, a heat preservation layer accommodation space is formed at the bottom of the battery tray. The battery box in this embodiment is used in a commercial vehicle. After the bottom of the battery box cooperates with other vehicle body structures, the bottom of the battery box has poor fluid circulation. Therefore, a natural air heat preservation layer can be formed at the bottom of the battery box, and the heat preservation of the battery box is realized by utilizing the characteristic that the heat conduction rate of air is slow. Of course, in other embodiments, the battery box can also be installed in a suspended manner. At this time, a stable air heat insulation layer cannot be formed at the bottom of the battery box, but a heat preservation coating can be sprayed in the heat preservation layer accommodation space for heat preservation, and the thickness of the heat preservation layer is determined by the height of the heat preservation layer accommodation space.

[0051] As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 7 As shown in and, in this embodiment, a protrusion is further provided near the outer side at the top of the frame profile. Therefore, when the frame profile is bent and combined into a frame assembly, a complete annular protrusion 4 is formed at the top of the frame assembly. The annular protrusion 4 constitutes a limiting structure for limiting the sealing ring provided on the top surface of the frame assembly 1. Of course, when other components are provided on the frame assembly at the annular protrusion, such as the nut 18 and the through-hole support 17 provided at the installation foot, the upper edges of the nut 18 and the through-hole support 17 also constitute a part of the limiting structure. In other embodiments, in addition to using a sealing ring between the battery tray and the upper cover, a sealant can also be used for sealing. At this time, the annular protrusion constitutes a glue-blocking structure.

[0052] In this embodiment, the frame assembly of the battery tray is composed of bent profiles, and the weld seams are transferred to the middle positions on the front and rear sides of the battery tray, which is more convenient for welding than the four corners, improving the welding quality. The number of weld seams is reduced from four to two, reducing the probability of airtight failure of the weld seams in the frame assembly. And since the rear mounting beam and the frame assembly are welded together by friction stir welding, the risk of airtight failure of the weld seams at the rear side of the frame can be further reduced.

[0053] In other embodiments, the installation beam channels for water inlet and outlet can also be respectively arranged on the front and rear mounting beams, and the water nozzles are correspondingly arranged at the left front and right rear of the frame assembly, and the coolant flows out from front to back.

[0054] In other embodiments, the sub-channel arranged on the bottom plate can also be S-shaped, flowing out from the main channel of the left frame, and flowing to the main channel of the right frame after two bends.

[0055] In other embodiments, the mounting feet can also be arranged on the frame assembly by welding during subsequent processing.

[0056] For a specific embodiment of the battery box of the present invention, as Figure 8 shown, the battery box includes a battery tray 101 and an upper cover 102 covering the battery tray. The border of the upper cover 102 is pressed against the top seal of the border assembly of the battery tray 103 to achieve a sealed fit. The structure of the battery tray is the same as that in the specific embodiment of the above battery tray, and will not be described in detail here.

Claims

1. A battery tray, characterized in that, Comprising: A frame component, including a left frame and a right frame. The left frame and the right frame are U-shaped structures, formed by bending the two ends of the frame profile towards the inside. Along the inner side surface of the two frames, there are main channels extending in the front-back direction. One of them is the liquid inlet main channel for liquid inlet, and the other is the liquid outlet main channel for liquid outlet. The main channels have communication ports facing the inside. A bottom plate, successively provided with auxiliary channels extending in the left-right direction adjacent to each other in the front-back direction. The auxiliary channels are respectively communicated with the liquid inlet main channel and the liquid outlet main channel through the communication ports. A front mounting beam and a rear mounting beam, used for fixedly mounting the battery, respectively arranged on the front and rear sides of the bottom plate. The front mounting beam and / or the rear mounting beam have mounting beam channels communicated with the main channels. The mounting beam channels have openings for communicating with the external cooling pipeline. At least one of the mounting beam channels is the liquid inlet mounting beam channel communicated with the liquid inlet main channel, and at least one is the liquid outlet mounting beam channel communicated with the liquid outlet main channel. The bottom surface of the main channel of the frame profile and the bottom surface of the bottom plate are both higher than the bottom surface of the frame profile. On the part of the frame component opposite to the opening of the mounting beam channel, a U-shaped groove with an opening facing downward is provided. A water nozzle communicated with the mounting beam channel is arranged in the U-shaped groove. In the U-shaped groove of the frame component, a U-shaped plug plate with a shape matching the U-shaped groove is welded to seal the frame component.

2. The battery tray according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the liquid inlet mounting beam channel and the liquid outlet mounting beam channel are arranged at the front mounting beam. The rear mounting beam is welded and sealed with the rear end of the main channel.

3. The battery tray according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The upper surface of the rear mounting beam is flush with the upper surface of the frame component and is welded by friction stir welding.

4. The battery tray according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The auxiliary channels are straight channels extending in the left-right direction. The auxiliary channels in the same bottom plate are arranged side by side in the front-back direction.

5. The battery tray according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Mounting feet are arranged on the left frame and the right frame. The mounting feet are integrally provided with the left frame and the right frame.

6. The battery tray according to claim 5, characterized in that, Lifting nuts are arranged on the side surface of the mounting feet.

7. The battery tray according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, At the connection between the frame component and the bottom plate, a positioning step is provided. The bottom plate determines its position in the height direction and the left-right direction with respect to the frame component through the positioning step.

8. The battery tray according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, A circular protrusion surrounding the frame component is arranged at the top of the frame component. The circular protrusion constitutes a limiting structure for limiting the sealing ring or a glue-blocking structure for blocking the sealing glue.

9. A battery box, characterized in that, Comprising: A battery tray, which is the battery tray described in any one of claims 1-8 above. An upper cover, covering the battery tray. The battery tray is in sealing cooperation with the upper cover.

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