Coolant port assembly

Abstract

The coolant port assembly according to the present application can include a coolant port including a tubular port portion extending in a predetermined length and a plate-shaped mounting bracket portion extending in a direction crossing a longitudinal direction of the port portion at one side of an outer circumferential surface of the port portion, a sealing gasket provided in a ring shape around an outer circumference of the port portion, and a gasket cover provided to press a portion of the sealing gasket and to be closely engaged with the mounting bracket portion together with the sealing gasket.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a coolant port assembly, and more particularly, to a coolant port assembly that is assembled to a battery pack to supply and discharge a coolant.

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0146831, filed on November 5, 2020, in the Republic of Korea, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND

[0003] Unlike a primary battery that cannot be charged, a secondary battery refers to a battery that can be charged and discharged, and is used not only as a power source for small high-tech electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and notebook computers, but also as a power source for an energy storage system (ESS), an electric vehicle (EV), or a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV).

[0004] A problem of a secondary battery is that if heat accompanying charging and discharging is not effectively cooled, safety is greatly reduced, for example, lifespan is shortened and causes a malfunction. For this reason, in order to use a secondary battery as an energy source for an electric vehicle, for example, a battery module is configured by connecting a plurality of lithium ion secondary batteries in series and / or in parallel, and a battery pack is generally configured by connecting such battery modules in series, and the battery pack includes a cooling system for properly managing the temperature of the battery module.

[0005] There are various cooling systems, and recently, a cooling system using a coolant and absorbing heat from a battery module by contacting a radiator having a flow path with the battery module is widely used. A battery pack to which a water cooling cooling system is applied requires a connection pipe and a coolant port 1 as shown in FIG. 1 to supply a coolant to the radiator. Figure 1

[0006] A component such as the coolant port 1 generally includes a gasket 4 to secure water tightness. For example, a groove 3 is formed at a main body 2 of the coolant port 1, and the gasket 4 is assembled to the groove 3 by assembly. However, when the gasket 4 is assembled to the coolant port 1 as described above, the gasket 4 is often moved out of its position or deviated during a process of transporting the component or handling the component on a battery assembly line.

[0007] In this case, the gasket 4 needs to be reassembled or rearranged, which is one factor that reduces reliability of water tightness performance of the coolant port and efficiency of the battery assembly process. SUMMARY

[0008] TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0009] ​The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the prior art, and thus, the present disclosure aims to solve the problem of the sealing gasket deviating from the coolant port in which the sealing gasket is stored in a state in which the sealing gasket is assembled to the coolant port.

[0010] These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be understood from the following detailed description, and will become more apparent by the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be implemented by means obviating or minimizing other disadvantages and that the present disclosure can not only achieve those objects and advantages but a further added object and advantage. The aims, as well as the objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be achieved by the features shown in the claims and combinations thereof.

[0011] Technical Solution

[0012] In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a coolant port assembly including: a coolant port including a port portion having a tube shape formed to extend in a predetermined length and a plate-shaped mounting bracket portion formed at one side of an outer periphery of the port portion to expand in a direction crossing a longitudinal direction of the port portion; a sealing gasket provided as a ring around the outer periphery of the port portion; and a gasket cover configured to closely engage with the mounting bracket portion together with the sealing gasket while pressing a portion of the sealing gasket.

[0013] The gasket cover can be configured to closely adhere to the mounting bracket portion while covering an outer peripheral edge region of the sealing gasket.

[0014] The gasket cover can have a perforation having a diameter greater than an inner diameter of the sealing gasket and less than an outer diameter of the sealing gasket when viewed from a front surface, and the perforation can gradually increase in a thickness direction of the gasket cover.

[0015] The mounting bracket portion can include a gasket overhang portion configured to protrude in a diameter corresponding to an inner diameter of the sealing gasket such that the sealing gasket is covered on an outer periphery of the gasket overhang portion.

[0016] The mounting bracket portion can include a cover mounting portion carved to be engaged with the gasket cover, and at least two side portions formed to extend in a direction crossing a longitudinal direction of the port portion, the cover mounting portion being interposed between the at least two side portions, and the at least two side portions having bolt fastening holes.

[0017] The side portions can be formed to be thicker than a thickness of the cover mounting portion by a thickness of the gasket cover.

[0018] The cover mounting portion can include a hook portion provided to at least one of a top end and a bottom end of the cover mounting portion, and the gasket cover can have a hook hole provided to at least one of a top end and a bottom end of the gasket cover to be engaged with the hook portion by a hooking manner.

[0019] The sealing gasket can be made of a rubber material or a silicon material.

[0020] The sealing gasket can include an engagement portion formed in a circumferential direction, thereby having a greater thickness at a predetermined interval.

[0021] In another aspect of the disclosure, a battery pack including the above-described coolant port assembly is also provided.

[0022] Advantageous Effects

[0023] According to embodiments of the disclosure, it is possible to provide a coolant port assembly that can improve sealing performance quality stability and improve efficiency of an assembly process by preventing flow and removal of a sealing gasket when applied to a battery pack.

[0024] Furthermore, it will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that various technical objects not mentioned above can be solved by the disclosure below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0025] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the disclosure and together with the foregoing disclosure, provide further understanding of the technical features of the disclosure, and therefore, the disclosure is not understood to be limited to the drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an example of a conventional coolant port assembly.

[0027] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a coolant port assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0028] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the coolant port assembly of FIG. 2. Figure 2

[0029] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the coolant port assembly of FIG. 2. Figure 2

[0030] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the coolant port assembly of FIG. 2. Figure 2

[0031] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 5. Figure 5

[0032] Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an example of using the coolant port assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0033] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a front view illustrating a coolant port assembly according to another embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] ​​​​Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Before the description, it should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be interpreted as limited to the general meaning and dictionary meaning, but should be interpreted based on the meaning and concept corresponding to the technical aspects of the present disclosure in accordance with the principle of allowing the inventor to appropriately define the terms for the best interpretation.

[0035] Therefore, the descriptions provided herein are merely preferred examples and are for illustrative purposes only, rather than intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that other equivalents and modifications may be employed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0036] In this specification, the term "coolant port assembly" refers to a component of a coolant supply / discharge line system. The following description assumes that the coolant port assembly is applied to a water-cooled battery pack. However, the use of the coolant port assembly in this disclosure is not limited to water-cooled battery packs. Specifically, the coolant port assembly can also be applied to coolant supply / discharge lines in devices other than water-cooled battery packs.

[0037] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a coolant port assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 3 It shows Figure 2 An exploded perspective view of the coolant port assembly, Figure 4 It shows Figure 2 Front view of the coolant port assembly.

[0038] The coolant port assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a coolant port 10 , a sealing gasket 20 , and a gasket cover 30 as main components.

[0039] like Figures 2-3 As shown, the coolant port 10 includes a port portion 11 having a tubular shape formed by extending a predetermined length, and a mounting bracket portion 12 formed at one side of the outer circumference of the port portion 1 to expand in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction of the port portion 11 .

[0040] For example, the port portion 11 is a device installed inside and outside the battery pack to connect the inner and outer connecting pipes 220 and 230 of the battery pack, and the mounting bracket portion 12 is a device for firmly fixing the port portion 11 to the battery pack case.

[0041] The diameter of the port portion 11 can be changed according to the diameter of the inner connecting tube 220, the outer connecting tube 230, or the port hole 210a of the battery pack housing connected thereto, and the length can be made longer or shorter than that of the present embodiment as needed. In addition, after the inner connecting tube 220 or the outer connecting tube 230 is connected to the port portion 11, a corrugated pattern or the like can be provided on the outer periphery of the port portion 11 so that it is not easily separated.

[0042] For example, the mounting bracket portion 12 has bolt-fastening holes H1 and H2 and can be formed into a plate shape for easy attachment to the wall surface 210 of the battery pack case. The mounting bracket portion 12 has bolt-fastening holes H1 and H2 at positions spaced a predetermined distance from the port portion 11 in the left-right direction (or the up-down direction) so as not to interfere with the port portion 11 during bolt tightening. The mounting bracket portion 12 is preferably manufactured to a predetermined thickness so as not to be damaged by the torque applied when bolts are used to attach to the wall surface 210 of the battery pack case. Furthermore, it is recommended to add bushings B to the bolt-fastening holes H1 and H2 to prevent chipping in the bolt-fastening holes H1 and H2 during bolt tightening.

[0043] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the mounting bracket portion 12 is implemented in a rectangular shape, however the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to this shape. The mounting bracket portion 12 may also be implemented in various shapes, such as a disk shape, a polygonal plate shape, and an elliptical plate shape.

[0044] The port portion 11 and the mounting bracket portion 12 can be integrally manufactured by injection molding by injecting plastic resin into a mold. One of the port portion 11 and the mounting bracket portion 12 can be made of plastic material, and the other can be made of metal material by insert injection molding.

[0045] When the coolant port 10 is mounted to the battery pack case, the sealing gasket 20 serves to ensure airtightness and watertightness of the corresponding portion to prevent foreign matter or moisture from entering the battery pack through a gap formed by the difference in diameter between the port hole 210 a and the port portion 11 .

[0046] The sealing gasket 20 can be configured as a ring made of rubber or silicon material. In the present embodiment, the sealing gasket 20 has a circular shape, but can also be implemented in the form of a square ring or a polygonal ring.

[0047] The sealing gasket 20 may have an inner diameter D1 greater than that of the port portion 11, surround the outer circumference of the port portion 11, and be closely attached to the front surface of the mounting bracket portion 12. Figure 3 As shown, the mounting bracket portion 12 may include a gasket suspension portion 13 capable of covering the sealing gasket 20. The gasket suspension portion 13 is configured in the shape of a protruding disk, the diameter of which corresponds to the inner diameter of the sealing gasket 20, but the protrusion of the gasket suspension portion 13 is less than the thickness of the sealing gasket 20.

[0048] The sealing gasket 20 of the present embodiment is made of rubber or silicon material to have elasticity. Therefore, for example, by suspending a part of the peripheral portion of the sealing gasket 20 on the gasket suspension portion 13 and slightly pushing the remaining peripheral portion, the sealing gasket 20 can be covered on the gasket suspension portion 13. In this way, since the sealing gasket 20 is covered on the gasket suspension portion 13, the firmness of the sealing gasket 20 can be ensured to some extent.

[0049] The gasket cover 30 is used as a means to prevent the sealing gasket 20 from deviating from its initial position or being removed due to impact or the like while the refrigerant port 10 is transported or assembled to the battery pack case.

[0050] Specifically, as shown in Figure 3 , the gasket cover 30 according to the present embodiment includes a plate-shaped main body portion 31 having a through-hole 32 at the center thereof, a top end bent portion 35 bent toward the front surface of the mounting bracket portion 12 at the upper edge of the main body portion 31, and a bottom end bent portion 37 bent toward the front surface of the mounting bracket portion 12 at the lower edge of the main body portion 31.

[0051] The mounting bracket portion 12 can include a cover mounting portion 14 carved to be engaged with the gasket cover 30, and at least two side portions 15, 16 formed to extend in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction of the port portion 11 with the cover mounting portion 14 interposed therebetween and having bolt fastening holes H1, H2. The side portions 15, 16 can be formed to be thicker than the thickness of the cover mounting portion 14 by the thickness of the gasket cover 30.

[0052] The top end and the bottom end of the cover mounting portion 14 each have two hook portions 14a, and the top end bent portion 35 and the bottom end bent portion 37 of the gasket cover 30 each can have two hook holes 36 to be engaged with the two hook portions 14a by hooking.

[0053] With the above configuration, as shown in Figure 2 , the gasket cover 30 can be closely engaged to the cover mounting portion 14 of the mounting bracket portion 12. At this time, the front surface of the main body portion 31 and the front surfaces of the side portions 15, 16 are located on the same plane, and compared to the front surface of the main body portion 31 and the front surfaces of the side portions 15, 16 of the gasket cover 30, the sealing gasket 20 can protrude more to the front.

[0054] Specifically, the gasket cover 30 can be closely engaged with the mounting bracket portion 12 together with the sealing gasket 20 while pressing a part of the sealing gasket 20.

[0055] When the refrigerant port 10 is viewed from the front, the through-hole 32 of the gasket cover 30 can be formed to have a diameter O larger than the inner diameter D1 of the sealing gasket 20 and smaller than the outer diameter D2 of the sealing gasket 20. In this case, as shown in Figure 4 andFigure 5 As shown, the outer edge region of the sealing gasket 20 can be pressed by the gasket cover 30 while the gasket cover 30 is tightly attached to the cover mounting portion 14. Here, the outer edge region of the sealing gasket 20 refers to Figure 4 the region between the dotted line shown and the inner solid line adjacent thereto.

[0056] Further, as shown, the perforation 32 of the gasket cover 30 can be formed to gradually expand in the thickness direction of the gasket cover 30. That is, the perforation 32 can be provided to have an inner circumference 33 that slightly expands from the front surface to the rear surface of the gasket cover 30. Figure 6

[0057] According to the present configuration, while the outer edge region 23 of the sealing gasket 20 is pressed, the rear surface of the main body portion 31 of the gasket cover 30 can be brought into contact with the front surface of the cover mounting portion 14, thereby not forming a step difference between the gasket cover 30 and the side portions 15, 16, and reducing damage to the sealing gasket 20. Further, the inner edge region 21 of the sealing gasket 20 is adjacent to the gasket overhang portion 13, and the outer edge region 23 of the sealing gasket 20 is pressed by the gasket cover 30, thereby enabling the sealing gasket 20 to be more strongly fixed.

[0058] If the gasket cover 30 is mounted to the mounting bracket portion 12 as described above, while the coolant port 10 is transported or the coolant port 10 is assembled to the battery pack case, even if a strong impact is applied, the sealing gasket 20 does not deviate from its initial position or is not removed.

[0059] Therefore, when the coolant port assembly 100 according to the present disclosure is applied to a battery pack, by preventing the sealing gasket 20 from being moved and removed, it is possible to improve the stability of the sealing performance quality and the efficiency of the assembly process.

[0060] For reference, as shown, the coolant port assembly 100 of the present disclosure can be mounted to the wall surface 210 of the battery pack case. For example, the front end of the port portion 11 is inserted into the port hole of the battery pack case until the sealing gasket 20 contacts the wall surface of the battery pack case. Then, the mounting bracket portion 12 is fixed to the wall surface 210 of the battery pack case using a bolt (not shown). At this time, since the sealing gasket 20 is strongly attached to the wall surface 210 of the battery pack case at the outer circumference of the port hole 210a, it is possible to reliably ensure the air and water tightness of the port hole 210a even if there is a gap between the port hole 210a and the port portion 11. Figure 7

[0061] ​​Meanwhile, during assembly of the battery pack, the inner connection pipe 220 of the battery pack can be connected to the front end of the coolant port 10, and if necessary, the outer connection pipe 230 can be connected to the rear end of the port portion 11. The inner connection pipe 220 can lead to an inlet of a radiator which is in contact with each battery module within the battery pack, and the outer connection pipe 230 can lead to a coolant reservoir outside the battery pack.

[0062] Figure 8 is a front view illustrating a coolant port assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0063] Next, a description will be made of another embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to Figure 8 Another embodiment of the present disclosure will be briefly described. The same reference numerals in the previous embodiment denote the same components, and will not be described in detail.

[0064] The coolant port assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure has a difference in the configuration of the sealing gasket 20 compared to the previous embodiment.

[0065] The sealing gasket 20 according to the present embodiment further includes an engaging portion 25 which is formed thicker at every predetermined interval in the circumferential direction. The engaging portion 25 can be considered as a component which increases the durability of the sealing gasket 20 and increases the adhesion between the gasket overhang 13 and the gasket cover 30.

[0066] As shown in Figure 8 In the sealing gasket 20, the inner surface portion of the engaging portion 25 strongly abuts the gasket overhang 13, and the outer surface portion of the engaging portion 25 strongly abuts the inner periphery of the perforation 32 of the gasket cover 30. The inner surface portion and the outer surface portion of the engaging portion 25 can be more strongly pressed by the gasket overhang 13 and the inner periphery of the gasket cover 30, respectively, thereby ensuring the firmness.

[0067] Meanwhile, the battery pack according to the present disclosure is a water-cooled battery pack, and can be configured to include at least one coolant port assembly 100 described above. In addition to the coolant port assembly 100, the battery pack can further include a battery module which is an assembly of battery cells, a control device for controlling charging / discharging and current flow based on the voltage and temperature of the battery module, such as a BMS, a fuse, and a relay, and a cooling assembly, such as a radiator for cooling the battery module.

[0068] The present disclosure has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that although a detailed description and specific examples have been given of preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, they are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.

[0069] Meanwhile, in the present specification, although terms indicating directions such as "upper", "lower", "left", and "right" are used, these terms are only for convenience of explanation, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that these terms can be expressed in different ways according to the observation position of the observer or the position of the object.

Claims

1. A coolant port assembly comprising: a coolant port including a port portion having a tubular shape formed to extend with a predetermined length and a plate-shaped mounting bracket portion formed at one side of an outer periphery of the port portion to expand in a direction intersecting with a longitudinal direction of the port portion; a sealing gasket provided in an annular shape surrounding an outer circumference of the port portion; as well as a gasket cover configured to tightly engage with the mounting bracket portion together with the sealing gasket while pressing a portion of the sealing gasket, wherein, when viewed from the front, the gasket cover has a through hole having a diameter greater than the inner diameter of the sealing gasket and smaller than the outer diameter of the sealing gasket, and The perforations gradually increase in size in a thickness direction of the gasket cover.

2. The coolant port assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The gasket cover is configured to be closely adhered to the mounting bracket portion while covering an outer peripheral edge area of ​​the sealing gasket.

3. The coolant port assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The mounting bracket portion includes a gasket hanging portion configured to protrude with a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the sealing gasket so that the sealing gasket is covered on an outer circumference of the gasket hanging portion.

4. The coolant port assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The mounting bracket portion includes: a cover mounting portion carved to engage with the gasket cover; and At least two side portions are formed to extend in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction of the port portion, the cover mounting portion is interposed between the at least two side portions, and the at least two side portions have bolt fastening holes.

5. The coolant port assembly according to claim 4, wherein: The gasket cover includes a plate-shaped main body engaged with the cover mounting portion. The side portion is formed to be thicker than the cover mounting portion by the thickness of the main body portion of the gasket cover.

6. The coolant port assembly according to claim 4, wherein: The cover mounting portion includes a hook portion provided at at least one of a top end and a bottom end of the cover mounting portion, and The gasket cover has a hook hole provided at least one of the top end and the bottom end of the gasket cover to engage with the hook portion in a hooking manner.

7. The coolant port assembly of claim 1 , wherein: The sealing gasket is made of rubber material or silicon material.

8. The coolant port assembly of claim 1 , wherein: The sealing gasket includes a joint portion formed in a circumferential direction so as to have a greater thickness at predetermined intervals.

9. A battery pack comprising the coolant port assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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