Battery pack

Abstract

The invention provides a battery pack. A battery pack includes: a cell stack; a cell case that accommodates the cell stack; a suction chamber; an exhaust chamber; and a plurality of rectifying plates, wherein the plurality of rectifying plates are arranged in the air suction chamber. The cell stack is configured by stacking a plurality of cells, and has a cooling air passage. The air suction chamber is located below the cell stack in the cell case, communicates with the cooling air passage, and receives a supply of cooling air flowing from an air suction port formed at one end of the plurality of battery cells in the stacking direction toward the other end of the plurality of battery cells in the stacking direction. And the exhaust chamber is positioned above the battery stack in the battery shell and is communicated with the cooling air passage. The plurality of rectifying plates are located on the downstream side of the cooling air, each of the rectifying plates is formed so as to extend in the stacking direction, and the rectifying plates are arranged at intervals in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a configuration for cooling a battery pack. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-097964 discloses a battery cooling system. The battery cooling system includes: a battery stack, wherein the battery stack is provided with a cooling air passage between battery modules; and an air intake chamber and an exhaust chamber, wherein the air intake chamber and the exhaust chamber are configured to sandwich the battery stack between the air intake chamber and the exhaust chamber. The exhaust chamber has a vent for allowing cooling air to flow out to the outside.

[0003] The air intake chamber described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-097964 is configured to receive cooling air flowing from an air intake port formed at one end of the stacking direction of multiple battery cells toward the other end of the stacking direction. Therefore, the cooling air may hit the wall surface on the downstream side of the air intake chamber and generate eddy currents. Due to the generation of the eddy currents, the cooling air may stagnate and cause the cooling air temperature to rise. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a battery pack capable of suppressing the generation of eddy currents on the downstream side of an intake chamber and suppressing a temperature increase of cooling air.

[0005] The battery pack disclosed in the present invention comprises a battery stack, a battery case, an air intake chamber, an exhaust chamber and a plurality of rectifier plates. The battery stack is formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, and has a cooling air passage between adjacent battery cells. The battery case accommodates the battery stack. The air intake chamber is located below the battery stack in the battery case, and is connected to the cooling air passage, and receives a supply of cooling air flowing from an air intake port formed at one end of the stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells toward the other end in the stacking direction. The exhaust chamber is located above the battery stack in the battery case, and is connected to the cooling air passage. A plurality of rectifier plates are arranged in the air intake chamber. The plurality of rectifier plates are located on the downstream side of the cooling air flow, and are respectively formed to extend along the stacking direction, and are arranged at intervals in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction when the battery stack is viewed from above.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, by providing the plurality of rectifying plates in the air intake chamber, it is possible to suppress the generation of eddy flow on the downstream side of the air intake chamber, and to suppress the increase in the temperature of the cooling air. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts, and in which:

[0008] Figure 1It is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a battery pack according to an embodiment.

[0009] Figure 2 It is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a battery pack of a comparative example.

[0010] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the battery pack taken along line AA is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] 1. Battery pack structure

[0012] Figure 1 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a battery pack 1 according to an embodiment. The battery pack 1 is mounted on an electric vehicle such as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) or a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

[0013] The battery pack 1 includes a battery stack 10 and a battery case 20. The battery case 20 accommodates the battery stack 10. The battery stack 10 is formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells 12. The stacking direction D1 of the plurality of battery cells 12 coincides with the long side direction of the battery stack 10. For example, each battery cell 12 is a square cell, and the battery stack 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Furthermore, the battery case 20 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape along the shape of the battery stack 10.

[0014] The battery stack 10 includes a spacer (not shown) disposed between adjacent battery cells 12. The battery stack 10 has a cooling air passage 14 formed by the spacer. In addition, the battery stack 10 includes, for example, a pair of end plates 16 located at both ends of the stacking direction D1, and is supported by the battery case 20 via the pair of end plates 16.

[0015] An air intake chamber 22 and an air exhaust chamber 24 are formed inside the battery housing 20. Figure 1 As shown, the space below the battery stack 10 is formed as an air intake chamber 22. The air intake chamber 22 is connected to the cooling air passage 14. The space above the battery stack 10 is formed as an exhaust chamber 24. The exhaust chamber 24 is connected to the cooling air passage 14. In more detail, the air intake chamber 22 is arranged adjacent to the lower surface of the battery stack 10 and is surrounded by the battery case 20 together with the lower surface. The exhaust chamber 24 is arranged adjacent to the upper surface of the battery stack 10 and is surrounded by the battery case 20 together with the upper surface.

[0016] The air intake chamber 22 has an air intake port 26. The air intake port 26 is formed by the battery case 20 at one end in the stacking direction D1. The air exhaust chamber 24 has an air exhaust port 28. As an example, the air exhaust port 28 is formed by the battery case 20 at the other end in the stacking direction D1.

[0017] The battery pack 1 is provided with a blower 30 for generating cooling air inside the battery case 20. The blower 30 is, for example, an exhaust type blower or fan connected to the air intake port 26. Figure 1 As shown, the blower 30 supplies cooling air to the air intake chamber 22 so that the cooling air flows along the stacking direction D1 in the air intake chamber 22. In other words, the air intake chamber 22 receives cooling air flowing from the air intake port 26 formed at one end in the stacking direction D1 toward the other end in the stacking direction D1.

[0018] When the air blower 30 is operated to cool the plurality of battery cells 12, Figure 1 As shown, the cooling air introduced from the air intake port 26 flows along the stacking direction D1 inside the air intake chamber 22 while flowing into each cooling air passage 14. Then, the cooling air after passing through each cooling air passage 14 flows out to the exhaust chamber 24, flows along the stacking direction D1 inside the exhaust chamber 24, and is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port 28.

[0019] The number of battery stacks 10 included in the battery pack 1 is not particularly limited, but as an example, the number of battery stacks 10 is Figure 1 Two of them are arranged in the paper depth direction. In addition, the air intake chamber 22 and the air intake port 26 are connected via a partition plate 32 (see below) provided in the battery case 20. Figure 3 ) is formed according to each battery stack 10.

[0020] The battery pack 1 further includes a plurality of rectifying plates 40. For details on the structure of the plurality of rectifying plates 40, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 3 Give a narrative.

[0021] 2. Comparative Example

[0022] Figure 2 1 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a battery pack 100 of a comparative example. The battery pack 100 is similar to the battery pack 100 except that it does not include a plurality of rectifier plates 40. Figure 1 The battery pack 1 shown is constructed in the same way. Figure 2 is with Figure 1 The AA line is a cross-sectional view of a battery case 102 of a battery pack 100 cut along the same position as shown. This comparative example is referred to in order to explain the problem of a battery pack 100 that does not have a plurality of rectifying plates 40.

[0023] A portion of the cooling air supplied to the air intake chamber 22 by the blower 30 flows along the stacking direction D1 and hits the downstream wall surface 102a and rebounds. Figure 2As shown, a vortex of cooling air is generated on the downstream side of the air intake chamber 22 (more specifically, near the wall surface 102a). Due to the generation of the vortex, a portion of the cooling air stays in the air intake chamber 22 for a longer time. As a result, the cooling air temperature rises. The increase in the cooling air temperature will lead to a deterioration in the cooling of the plurality of battery cells 12.

[0024] 3. Rectifier

[0025] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 AA line cross-sectional view of the battery pack 1 shown. Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, a plurality of rectifying plates 40 are arranged inside the suction chamber 22. Figure 3 In the illustrated example, three rectifying plates 40 are provided inside each intake chamber 22 as an example.

[0026] Hereinafter, the structure of the rectifying plate 40 will be described with attention paid to each of the air intake chambers 22 .

[0027] The three rectifying plates 40 are located on the downstream side of the cooling air in the air intake chamber 22. More specifically, the three rectifying plates 40 are arranged at the end of the downstream side, in other words, arranged near the wall surface 20a of the battery case 20 located on the opposite side of the blower 30 in the stacking direction D1. That is, when focusing on the stacking direction D1, the three rectifying plates 40 are provided at a position where eddy currents would be generated if the three rectifying plates 40 were not provided (see Figure 2 ). To further explain, when focusing on the stacking direction D1 (i.e., the flow direction of the cooling air), the three straightening plates 40 are not arranged at a position upstream of the downstream end of the cooling air. In other words, the three straightening plates 40 are only arranged at the downstream end.

[0028] In addition, the three rectifying plates 40 are formed to extend along the stacking direction D1. For example, the three rectifying plates 40 are formed to have the same shape and size. Figure 3 In the plan view of the battery stack 10 shown, three rectifying plates 40 are arranged side by side at intervals in a direction D2 perpendicular to the stacking direction D1.

[0029] More specifically, in Figure 3 In the example shown, three straightening plates 40 are arranged in a row at a "constant interval" in the orthogonal direction D2. To add, the constant interval mentioned here includes not only an example in which the interval is completely constant but also an example in which the interval is substantially constant.

[0030] In addition, the three rectifying plates 40 are formed so as to extend from the wall surface 20b (see Figure 1) are three ribs protruding upward. The wall surface 20b is a wall surface of the battery case 20 that forms the bottom surface of the air intake chamber 22 and faces the battery stack 10. To further explain, the three rectifier plates 40 as the three ribs are formed integrally with the battery case 20, but may also be formed by a component separate from the battery case 20. In addition, the height of the three rectifier plates 40 is not particularly limited, but the three rectifier plates 40 may be, for example, Figure 1 As shown, it is formed over the entirety of the intake chamber 22 in the vertical direction.

[0031] In addition, Figure 3 In the example shown, the three rectifying plates 40 are each formed into a rhombus shape that is long in the stacking direction D1 when the battery stack 10 is viewed from above. However, the shape of each rectifying plate 40 when the battery stack 10 is viewed from above is not necessarily limited to the rhombus shape as long as it is a plate shape extending along the stacking direction D1.

[0032] (Effect)

[0033] According to the battery pack 1 of the present embodiment described above, as in Figure 3 As shown by arrows in FIG. 1 , the cooling air reaching the positions of the plurality of rectifying plates 40 is rectified by passing through the gaps between the adjacent rectifying plates 40. Figure 2 As a result, since part of the cooling air can be prevented from staying for a long time on the downstream side of the air intake chamber 22, the temperature rise of the cooling air can be suppressed. This leads to improved cooling of the plurality of battery cells 12.

[0034] In a broad sense, the intervals between the plurality of straightening plates 40 in the orthogonal direction D2 may not necessarily be constant. Figure 3 In the example shown, the plurality of rectifying plates 40 are arranged at a constant interval in the orthogonal direction D2. This can further improve the rectifying effect compared to a case where the intervals are not constant and are irregular, and thus can more effectively suppress the Figure 2 The generation of larger vortices as shown.

[0035] In addition, in a broad sense, the plurality of rectifying plates 40 may not necessarily be formed as ribs extending from the wall surface 20b of the battery case 20. That is, for example, the plurality of rectifying plates 40 may be supported by pillars extending from the side surface of the battery case 20 such as the wall surface 20a. Figure 3 In the illustrated example, the plurality of rectifying plates 40 are formed as ribs extending from the wall surface 20b of the battery case 20. This makes it possible to easily manufacture the plurality of rectifying plates 40 and suppress a temperature increase in the cooling air.

Claims

1. A battery pack, characterized in that: The battery pack comprises: A battery stack, wherein the battery stack is formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells and has a cooling air passage between adjacent battery cells; A battery housing, the battery housing accommodating the battery stack; an air intake chamber located below the battery stack in the battery housing and connected to the cooling air passage to receive cooling air flowing from an air intake port formed at one end in the stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells toward the other end in the stacking direction; an exhaust chamber, the exhaust chamber being located above the battery stack in the battery housing and being in communication with the cooling air passage; as well as A plurality of rectifying plates, wherein the plurality of rectifying plates are arranged in the air suction chamber, The plurality of rectifying plates are located on the downstream side of the cooling air flow and are respectively formed to extend along the stacking direction. In a plan view of the battery stack, the plurality of rectifying plates are arranged side by side at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1, characterized in that: The interval is constant.

3. The battery pack according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The plurality of rectifying plates are a plurality of ribs protruding upward from a wall surface of the battery case forming the bottom surface of the intake chamber.

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