Universal rechargeable energy storage system tray cooling

Abstract

A vehicle includes a vehicle chassis supported by four wheels. The at least one electric motor provides drive torque to at least one of the four wheels. A rechargeable energy storage system is supported by the vehicle chassis and provides power to the electric motor. A rechargeable energy storage system includes a housing and a plurality of battery cells disposed within the housing. The base of the housing includes an extruded aluminum tray assembly having liquid coolant channels extending through the aluminum tray assembly and air cooling fins extending from the bottom of the extruded aluminum tray assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The information provided in this section is for the purpose of generally presenting the background of the present disclosure. To the extent described in this section, the work of the presently named inventors and aspects of the description that may not constitute prior art at the time of filing are neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art to the present disclosure.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to tray cooling for a rechargeable energy storage system. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle includes a vehicle chassis supported by four wheels. At least one electric motor provides drive torque to at least one of the four wheels. A rechargeable energy storage system is supported by the vehicle chassis and provides power to the electric motor. The rechargeable energy storage system includes a housing and a plurality of battery cells disposed within the housing. The base of the housing includes an extruded aluminum tray assembly having liquid coolant channels extending through the aluminum tray assembly and air cooling fins extending from the bottom of the extruded aluminum tray assembly.

[0004] According to another aspect, a liquid coolant system is connected to the liquid coolant channels in the aluminum tray assembly.

[0005] According to another aspect, a liquid coolant system is connected to the electric motor coolant passages of at least one electric motor.

[0006] According to another aspect, a coolant connection is included between an electric motor coolant passage and a liquid coolant passage of the aluminum tray assembly.

[0007] According to another aspect, the air cooling fins extend in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle chassis.

[0008] According to another aspect, the air cooling fins are exposed along a bottom portion of the vehicle.

[0009] According to another aspect, a liquid coolant system includes battery cell coolant channels disposed between a plurality of battery cells.

[0010] According to another aspect, an extruded aluminum pallet assembly includes a plurality of pallet sections secured together by welding.

[0011] According to another aspect, a thermally conductive material is included for transferring heat between the plurality of battery cells and the extruded aluminum tray.

[0012] The present invention also includes the following solutions:

[0013] Solution 1. A vehicle comprising:

[0014] A vehicle chassis supported by four wheels;

[0015] at least one electric motor for driving at least one of the four wheels;

[0016] A rechargeable energy storage system is supported by the vehicle chassis and provides power to the electric motor, the rechargeable energy storage system including a housing and a plurality of battery cells disposed within the housing, the base of the housing including an extruded aluminum tray assembly having liquid coolant channels extending through the aluminum tray assembly and air cooling fins extending from a bottom of the extruded aluminum tray assembly.

[0017] Option 2. The vehicle according to Option 1 further includes a liquid coolant system connected to the liquid coolant channel in the aluminum tray assembly.

[0018] Option 3. The vehicle of Option 2, wherein the liquid coolant system is connected to an electric motor coolant passage of the at least one electric motor.

[0019] Option 4. The vehicle of Option 2 further includes a coolant connection between the electric motor coolant passage and the liquid coolant passage of the aluminum tray assembly.

[0020] Option 5. The vehicle according to Option 1, wherein the air cooling fins extend in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle chassis.

[0021] Option 6. The vehicle of Option 1, wherein the air cooling fins are exposed along a bottom portion of the vehicle.

[0022] Option 7. The vehicle of Option 1, wherein the liquid coolant system includes battery cell coolant channels disposed between the plurality of battery cells.

[0023] Option 8. The vehicle of Option 1, wherein the extruded aluminum tray assembly comprises a plurality of tray sections secured together by welding.

[0024] Option 9. The vehicle of Option 1 further comprising insulating material between the plurality of battery cells and the extruded aluminum tray.

[0025] Option 10. The vehicle of Option 9, wherein the air cooling fins are exposed along a bottom portion of the vehicle.

[0026] Solution 11. A vehicle comprising:

[0027] A vehicle chassis supported by four wheels;

[0028] at least one electric motor for driving at least one of the four wheels;

[0029] A rechargeable energy storage system is supported by the vehicle chassis and provides power to the electric motor, the rechargeable energy storage system including a housing and a plurality of battery cells disposed within the housing, the base of the housing including an extruded aluminum tray assembly having air cooling fins extending from a bottom of the extruded aluminum tray assembly.

[0030] Option 12. The vehicle of Option 11 further includes a liquid coolant system connected to a plurality of liquid coolant channels in the aluminum tray assembly.

[0031] Embodiment 13. The vehicle of embodiment 12, wherein the liquid coolant system is connected to an electric motor coolant passage of the at least one electric motor.

[0032] Option 14. The vehicle of Option 12 further comprising a coolant connection between the electric motor coolant passage and the liquid coolant passage of the aluminum tray assembly.

[0033] Option 15. The vehicle according to Option 11, wherein the air cooling fins extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle chassis.

[0034] Option 16. The vehicle of Option 11, wherein the air cooling fins are exposed along a bottom portion of the vehicle.

[0035] Option 17. The vehicle of Option 11, wherein the liquid coolant system includes battery cell coolant channels disposed between the plurality of battery cells.

[0036] Embodiment 18. The vehicle of embodiment 11, wherein the extruded aluminum tray assembly comprises a plurality of tray sections secured together by welding.

[0037] Option 19. The vehicle of Option 11 further comprising insulating material between the plurality of battery cells and the extruded aluminum tray.

[0038] Option 20. The vehicle of Option 19, wherein the air cooling fins are exposed along a bottom portion of the vehicle.

[0039] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims and accompanying drawings.The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] The present disclosure will be more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0041] Figure 1 is a bottom perspective view of a vehicle battery housing;

[0042] Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the battery casing;

[0043] Figure 3 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a battery tray having coolant channels and cooling fins therein according to the principles of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 4 is a partial bottom perspective view of a battery housing tray;

[0045] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a cooling system connected to coolant channels in a battery housing tray of a vehicle battery housing; and

[0046] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the cooling system of the battery housing.

[0047] Among the drawings, reference numerals may be repeated to identify similar and / or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] refer to Figure 1 , the electric vehicle 10 includes a vehicle chassis 12 supported by four wheels 14. The electric vehicle 10 may include one or more electric motors 16 for driving the four wheels 14. The electric motors 16 may include four electric motors, each associated with a corresponding wheel 14, as shown. Alternative electric motor 16 arrangements with fewer motors may be used. A rechargeable energy storage system 18 is supported by the vehicle chassis 12 and provides power to the electric motors 16.

[0049] refer to Figure 2-Figure 4 The rechargeable energy storage system 18 includes a housing 20 and a plurality of battery cells 22 disposed within the housing 20. The battery cells may be of any known type. The base 24 of the housing 20 includes an extruded aluminum tray assembly 26 having liquid coolant channels 28 extending through the aluminum tray assembly 26 and air cooling fins 30 extending from the bottom of the extruded aluminum tray assembly 26. Additional battery cell coolant channels 31 are disposed between the plurality of battery cells and are connected to the liquid coolant channels 28 extending through the aluminum tray assembly 26. The extruded aluminum tray assembly 26 includes a plurality of tray sections 26a, 26b secured together by welding.

[0050] refer to Figure 5The liquid coolant system 32 includes a heat exchanger 33 connected to the liquid coolant passages 28 in the aluminum tray assembly 26 and connected to electrical components 36 (e.g., Figure 1 The electric motor 16 or Figure 5 Bypass channel 40 can be used to bypass coolant channel 28 of aluminum tray 26. Aluminum tray assembly 26 can be used as a heat sink for cooling hot coolant from electrical components 36.

[0051] The air cooling fins 30 may extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle chassis 12 to reduce wind resistance and still provide a heat sink for cooling the battery cells 22 and cooling the coolant in the liquid coolant channels 28. The air cooling fins 30 are exposed along the bottom of the vehicle 10, and the aluminum tray assembly 26 serves the additional function of a skid plate.

[0052] refer to Figure 6 The liquid coolant flow path through the battery cells 22 is directed through liquid coolant channels 28 that extend through the aluminum tray assembly 26. Insulation material 38 may be provided between the battery cells 22 and the aluminum tray assembly 26 to prevent heat from being transferred from the tray assembly 26 to the battery cells 22. Air cooling fins 30 assist in removing heat from the aluminum tray assembly 26.

[0053] The tray assembly 26 can be made of other thermally conductive materials, such as steel. The air cooling fins 30 can extend the entire length of the tray panel, or can extend along a portion of the tray panel. The cooling fins can have a height of up to 2 cm and a spacing of less than 2 cm between them, and a width of up to 1 cm. Alternative spacing, heights, and thicknesses can be used.

[0054] The liquid coolant channels 28 may have a width between 1 and 3 cm and a height between 3 and 10 mm. Alternative widths and heights may be used.

[0055] The insulation material 38 may include ceramic fiber insulation, cellulose, polystyrene, polyurethane foam, wool, fiberglass, or other known insulation materials.

[0056] A manifold structure may be connected to each end of the liquid coolant passages 28 to allow coolant to be distributed to the passages 28 and to collect and deliver coolant from the passages 28 for connection to the pump and cooled electrical components (motor, power module, etc.). Gaskets and seals may be used to connect the manifolds to the coolant passages 28. The cooled electrical components may also include electronic controllers and other vehicle components that require cooling.

[0057] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure, its application or use. The broad teachings of the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms. Therefore, although the present disclosure includes specific examples, the true scope of the present disclosure should not be so limited, because after studying the drawings, description and appended claims, other modifications will become apparent. It should be understood that, without changing the principle of the present disclosure, one or more steps in the method can be performed in different orders (or simultaneously). In addition, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented in the features of any one of the other embodiments and / or combined with the features of any one of the other embodiments, even if the combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the embodiments described are not mutually exclusive, and the replacement of one or more embodiments with each other remains within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0058] Various terms are used to describe the spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.), including "connected," "engaged," "coupled," "adjacent," "next to," "on top of," "above," "below," and "disposed." Unless explicitly described as "directly," when a relationship between a first and a second element is described in the above disclosure, the relationship can be a direct relationship with no other intervening elements between the first and second elements, but can also be an indirect relationship with one or more intervening elements between the first and second elements (spatially or functionally). As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C) using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C."

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: A vehicle chassis supported by four wheels; at least one electric motor for driving at least one of the four wheels; A rechargeable energy storage system is supported by the vehicle chassis and provides power to the electric motor, the rechargeable energy storage system including a housing and a plurality of battery cells disposed within the housing, the base of the housing including an extruded aluminum tray assembly having liquid coolant channels extending through the aluminum tray assembly and air cooling fins extending from a bottom of the extruded aluminum tray assembly. 2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a liquid coolant system connected to the liquid coolant passages in the aluminum tray assembly.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein: The liquid coolant system is connected to an electric motor coolant passage of the at least one electric motor. 4 . The vehicle of claim 2 , further comprising a coolant connection between the electric motor coolant passage and the liquid coolant passage of the aluminum tray assembly.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The air cooling fins extend in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle chassis.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The air cooling fins are exposed along the bottom of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The liquid coolant system includes battery cell coolant channels disposed between the plurality of battery cells.

8. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein The extruded aluminum pallet assembly comprises a plurality of pallet sections secured together by welding.

9. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising insulation between the plurality of battery cells and the extruded aluminum tray.

10. The vehicle according to claim 9, wherein The air cooling fins are exposed along the bottom of the vehicle.

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