Liquid-cooled heat dissipation plate and lithium battery module comprising same

Abstract

A liquid-cooled heat dissipation plate comprises two heat dissipation assemblies, and each heat dissipation assembly is provided with a rectangular plate body which comprises an inner surface and an opposite outer surface; u-shaped frames with proper heights are arranged on three sides of the periphery of the inner surface, and a plurality of heat dissipation columns are arranged on the inner surface; the height of the middle frame of the U-shaped frame is about two times that of the frames on the two sides, and the height of the heat dissipation columns is not higher than that of the frames on the two sides of the U-shaped frame. The liquid-cooled heat dissipation plate is formed by welding two heat dissipation assemblies after the two heat dissipation assemblies are connected with each other in the mode that the inner surfaces of the two heat dissipation assemblies are opposite to each other, the middle frame of the U-shaped frame of one heat dissipation assembly is connected to an opening of the U-shaped frame of the other heat dissipation assembly to form a liquid flow cavity, and the heat dissipation columns and the U-shaped frames are integrally formed and manufactured through a metal sheet. The at least one liquid inlet is used for allowing cooling liquid to enter the liquid flow chamber; the at least one liquid outlet is used for enabling cooling liquid to flow out of the liquid flow chamber; wherein the liquid inlet and the liquid outlet are formed in the same side or different sides of the liquid-cooled heat dissipation plate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a liquid-cooled heat sink, and more particularly to a liquid-cooled heat sink that can be used in lithium battery modules. The invention further relates to a lithium battery module incorporating the liquid-cooled heat sink. Background Technology

[0002] Research on lithium batteries has improved their capabilities in terms of voltage, energy density, charge / discharge efficiency, and cycle life, giving them a crucial strategic position in applications ranging from everyday mobile devices and electric vehicles to large-scale energy storage systems. With the continuous development of lithium battery materials and structures, battery energy density is constantly increasing; however, the larger charge / discharge currents generate a significant amount of heat.

[0003] A lithium battery module consists of thousands or even tens of thousands of lithium battery cells arranged closely together in a small space, such as the space in a vehicle chassis. During the charging and discharging process, the rapid and large amount of heat generated by the lithium battery can easily accumulate due to poor heat dissipation efficiency, causing the overall lithium battery module temperature to rise rapidly and causing safety issues.

[0004] Lithium batteries are limited to a narrow optimal operating temperature range (approximately 15°C to 40°C) due to their characteristics. When the temperature is too low, the battery output power will decrease, while when the temperature is too high, the accelerated exothermic reaction may cause corrosion of lithium battery materials, battery degradation, or even thermal runaway safety issues.

[0005] Besides maintaining the lithium battery cells within their optimal operating range, the greater challenge lies in ensuring that the entire lithium battery module, or each of its individual modules, also operates within its optimal range. Currently, common thermal management systems for lithium battery modules include air cooling, indirect liquid cooling, direct liquid cooling or immersion cooling, phase change cooling, heat pipe or vapor chamber cooling, and combinations of these methods. However, for commercial applications, considering factors such as cost, safety, heat dissipation capacity, weight, and space constraints, only air-cooled and liquid-cooled passive cooling systems are widely used in applications such as lithium battery module cooling in electric vehicles. However, compared to traditional air-cooling technology, liquid thermal conductivity is at least 25 times that of air, and the same volume of liquid can carry away nearly 3000 times more heat than the same volume of air. Since the lithium battery cells in a lithium battery module are usually arranged in a close-packed manner, air cooling cannot efficiently allow air to flow between the lithium battery cells for heat dissipation. Therefore, the efficiency of air cooling is gradually becoming insufficient to cope with the existing close-packed, high-energy-density lithium battery modules. Liquid cooling, on the other hand, has a significantly better heat dissipation efficiency than air cooling due to the high heat capacity of its coolant.

[0006] Common liquid cooling devices or systems generally refer to indirect liquid cooling, which mainly utilizes coolant circulating within the pipes or channels of the cooling device that are in direct contact with the lithium battery cells or modules to carry away and dissipate the heat generated by the lithium battery outside the module. Therefore, the structural design of liquid cooling devices needs to consider not only the effectiveness of heat dissipation between lithium battery cells within the lithium battery module and temperature consistency, but also rigorous safety considerations to prevent coolant leakage.

[0007] Common lithium battery modules use cylindrical, prismatic, and plate-shaped (or sheet-like) lithium battery cells. Taking Tesla electric vehicles as an example, a lithium battery module composed of cylindrical cells utilizes a liquid cooling system achieved through two curved, sheet-like liquid cooling plates. Each of these plates has an inlet and an outlet for coolant to be injected for heat exchange before the heat is carried away. The two curved plates follow the contours of the closely packed cylindrical lithium battery cells and closely contact the upper and lower halves of each cell. The coolant flows in opposite directions in the plates contacting the upper and lower halves of the cells to reduce the temperature difference between the front and rear sections of the coolant flow path.

[0008] For modules composed of block-shaped or plate-shaped battery cells, liquid cooling typically involves placing several liquid cooling plates on various surfaces of the module. Heat exchange occurs through coolant flowing through the plates, carrying away heat from the module. Heat dissipation between individual battery cells can be achieved using heat-conducting plates or liquid cooling pipes to reduce the overall weight and cost of the lithium battery module. The liquid cooling plates used in this configuration must possess sufficient rigidity to resist deformation or breakage, and must also have good cooling efficiency. For example, patent document CN111630708A discloses a cooling component for a battery module, comprising an upper plate, a lower plate, and a support member disposed between the upper and lower plates. In this patent, the upper and lower plates, when combined, form a space for accommodating the support member. The support member increases the overall rigidity of the cooling component and supports the upper and lower plates, preventing deformation under external forces. The support member can be manufactured using extrusion molding to create recessed coolant channels. While the flow channel design of the support components can increase the rigidity of the cooling components and their heat dissipation efficiency, adding support components also means that the overall cooling components are significantly heavier than the typical two-piece liquid cooling plates, which is not conducive to the trend of lightweighting electric vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0009] To address the issues of rigidity, heat dissipation efficiency, overall weight, and safety encountered by current liquid-cooled heat sinks (or devices / systems) applied to lithium battery modules, this invention aims to provide a liquid-cooled heat sink suitable for lithium battery modules. This heat sink is manufactured by integrally molding a single metal sheet (e.g., magnesium alloy or aluminum alloy) into a heat dissipation component, and then two heat dissipation components are joined together to form a liquid-cooled heat sink with a liquid flow chamber. The heat dissipation component can be manufactured using conventional stamping or extrusion methods, or by forging. The liquid-cooled heat sink proposed in this invention increases the heat dissipation area and improves heat dissipation efficiency by forming a plurality of heat dissipation pillars on the inner surface of the heat dissipation component. When two heat dissipation components are joined to form the liquid-cooled heat sink, these heat dissipation pillars are distributed within the liquid flow chamber of the heat sink. Therefore, when the outer surface of the liquid-cooled heat sink comes into contact with a heat source, the high thermal conductivity of the metal allows for rapid heat conduction and dispersion to these heat dissipation pillars, and heat is quickly carried away through heat exchange with the cooling liquid flowing through these pillars. Compared to conventional liquid-cooled heat sinks without heat dissipation columns, the liquid-cooled heat sink proposed in this invention has a larger total heat dissipation area that can contact the cooling liquid and exchange heat due to the heat dissipation columns present in the liquid flow chamber, thus significantly improving heat dissipation efficiency. Furthermore, when two heat dissipation components are joined together to form a liquid-cooled heat sink, the heat dissipation columns from the two components can touch each other, acting as support members. The presence of numerous support members (heat dissipation columns) within the liquid flow chamber gives the liquid-cooled heat sink strong resistance to external impacts, preventing deformation and breakage. In addition, the liquid-cooled heat sink of this invention can be welded using laser welding on a small area of ​​homogeneous material, further strengthening the weld joint and making it less prone to cracking due to external impacts, thus preventing coolant leakage. Therefore, compared to conventional liquid-cooled heat sinks used in lithium battery modules, the liquid-cooled heat sink of this invention has higher heat dissipation efficiency and resistance to deformation and breakage, and also offers greater safety when applied to lithium battery module heat dissipation.

[0010] This invention proposes a liquid-cooled heat sink for lithium battery modules. A metal sheet / block is integrally molded into a heat sink assembly with heat dissipation columns. Two heat sink assemblies are then joined together with their heat dissipation columns corresponding to each other (or touching each other) to form a liquid-cooled heat sink with numerous heat dissipation columns distributed within a liquid flow chamber. These heat dissipation columns are located on the inner surfaces of both sides of the liquid flow chamber, directly immersed in the cooling liquid for heat exchange, thus accelerating heat dissipation. This heat dissipation column structure design allows the two sides of the liquid-cooled heat sink in contact with the heat source to have a large heat exchange area. This enables rapid heat conduction from both sides of the liquid-cooled heat sink to the heat dissipation columns of each heat sink assembly, where they exchange heat with the cooling liquid for rapid heat dissipation. Compared to hollow liquid-cooled heat sinks without heat dissipation columns, this invention's liquid-cooled heat sink has a larger total heat dissipation area, and since the heat dissipation area of ​​these columns is directly immersed in the cooling liquid, its heat dissipation efficiency is higher.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the present invention provides a liquid-cooled heat sink plate for use in lithium battery modules, comprising at least two heat sink components, at least one liquid inlet, and at least one liquid outlet. The heat sink component has a rectangular plate body, including an inner surface and opposing outer surfaces. Three sides of the inner surface are provided with U-shaped frames of appropriate height, and a plurality of heat dissipation pillars are provided on the inner surface. The height of the middle frame of the U-shaped frame is approximately twice the height of the two side frames, and the height of the heat dissipation pillars is not higher than the two side frames of the U-shaped frame. The liquid-cooled heat sink plate for use in lithium battery modules of the present invention is formed by welding two heat sink components together with their inner surfaces facing each other. The middle frame of the U-shaped frame of one heat sink component is joined to the opening of the U-shaped frame of the other heat sink component to form a liquid-cooled heat sink plate with a liquid flow chamber. The overall structure of the heat sink component, including the heat dissipation pillars and the U-shaped frame, is manufactured as a single piece of metal. The liquid-cooled heat sink has at least one inlet for connecting to an external pipeline to allow a cooling liquid to enter the liquid flow chamber; and at least one outlet for connecting to an external pipeline to allow the cooling liquid to flow out of the liquid flow chamber; wherein the inlet and outlet are located on the same side or different sides of the liquid-cooled heat sink.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the overall structure of the heat dissipation component, including the heat dissipation column and the U-shaped frame, is manufactured by integral molding of a metal sheet, and the metal sheet is a magnesium alloy or an aluminum alloy.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink is composed of two heat dissipation components that are joined together with their inner surfaces facing each other and then welded together by laser welding.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the fluid flow chamber further includes at least one guide plate.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink is used for heat dissipation of plate-shaped or sheet-shaped lithium battery modules, and the liquid-cooled heat sink is a plate-shaped structure with a length of about 250mm-600mm, a width of about 150mm-450mm, and a thickness of about 10mm-30mm.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cooling liquid is water.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the present invention also provides a lithium battery module comprising a plurality of liquid-cooled heat sinks as described in any of the above embodiments, and a plurality of sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries, wherein the liquid-cooled heat sinks are alternately arranged between the plurality of sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a lithium battery module is provided in which at least one sheet-shaped or plate-shaped lithium battery is included between two adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a lithium battery module comprises two sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries between two adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a liquid-cooled heat sink and a heat dissipation assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a top view of the heat dissipation assembly in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 3 For Figure 2 A top-view perspective structural diagram of the first embodiment of the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention, made from the heat dissipation components.

[0023] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the first embodiment of the liquid-cooled heat sink.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a top view of the heat dissipation component in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 6 For Figure 5 A top-view perspective structural diagram of the second embodiment of the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention, made from the heat dissipation components.

[0026] Figure 7This is a top view of the heat dissipation component in the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 8 For Figure 7 A top-view perspective structural diagram of the third embodiment of the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention, made from the heat dissipation components.

[0028] Figure 9 This is an embodiment of the guide plate used in the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention. The upper figure is a perspective view and the lower figure is a top view.

[0029] Figure 10 This is a top view of the heat dissipation component in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 11 For Figure 10 A top-view perspective structural diagram of the fourth embodiment of the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention, made from the heat dissipation components.

[0031] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a lithium battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of a lithium battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention, which includes the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention.

[0033] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 10, 20, 30, 40 - Liquid-cooled heat sink; 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 - Heat dissipation components; 101 - Rectangular plate; 1011 - Inner surface; 1012 - Outer surface; 102 - U-shaped frame; 1021 - Middle frame; 1022 - Side frames; 103 - Heat dissipation column; 104 - Connector opening; 105 - Liquid inlet; 106 - Liquid outlet; 200 - Connector; 300 - Guide plate; 500 - Sheet or plate-shaped lithium battery; S100, S200 - Lithium battery module; L - Liquid flow chamber. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrates an embodiment of a liquid-cooled heat sink for use in lithium battery modules. For clarity and ease of illustration, the dimensions and proportions of the components in the drawings may be exaggerated or reduced. In the following description and / or claims, the technical terms used should be interpreted in the sense commonly known to those skilled in the art. For ease of understanding, the same elements in the following embodiments are indicated by the same symbols. In this specification, the term "about" generally refers to an actual value within ±10%, 5%, 1%, or 0.5% of a specific value or range. The term "about" in this invention represents an actual value falling within an acceptable standard error of the average value, as determined by those skilled in the art. Except as otherwise expressly stated, ranges, quantities, values, and percentages used herein are all modified by the term "about." Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the values ​​or parameters disclosed in this specification and the accompanying claims are approximate values ​​and may be modified as needed.

[0035] In the description of this invention, terms such as "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer" used to indicate the orientation or positional relationship of elements are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only to facilitate the description of the device of this invention and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or must be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0036] Please see Figures 1 to 4This is a schematic diagram of a liquid-cooled heat sink 10 applicable to lithium battery modules according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the liquid-cooled heat sink 10 of the present invention includes at least two heat sink components 100 with identical structures, each having: a rectangular plate 101, including an inner surface 1011 and opposing outer surfaces 1012; three sides of the inner surface 1011 are provided with U-shaped frame 102 of appropriate height, and a plurality of heat sink columns 103 are provided on the inner surface 1011; the height of the middle frame 1021 of the U-shaped frame 102 is approximately twice the height of the two side frames 1022, and the height of the heat sink columns 103 is not higher than the height of the two side frames 1022 of the U-shaped frame 102. In this embodiment, the liquid-cooled heat sink 10 of the present invention is formed by welding two identical heat sink components 100 together with their inner surfaces 1011 facing each other. The middle frame 1011 of the U-shaped frame 102 of one heat sink component 100 is joined to the opening of the U-shaped frame 102 of the other heat sink component 100 to form a liquid-cooled heat sink with a liquid flow chamber L. The overall structure of the heat sink component 101, including the heat sink column 103 and the U-shaped frame 102, is integrally formed from a metal sheet (e.g., magnesium alloy or aluminum alloy). The liquid-cooled heat sink 10 of the present invention also includes at least one inlet 105 for connecting to an external pipeline to allow cooling liquid to enter the liquid flow chamber L, and at least one outlet 106 for connecting to an external pipeline to allow cooling liquid to flow out of the liquid flow chamber L. The inlet 105 and outlet 106 can be respectively located on the same side or different sides of the liquid-cooled heat sink 10. When the coolant enters the flow chamber L, it flows through a plurality of heat dissipation columns 103 distributed within the flow chamber L and undergoes heat exchange. After absorbing heat, the coolant temperature rises and flows out from the outlet 106. Through an external pipe connected to the outlet 106, the cooled coolant is transported to a heat dissipation device to dissipate heat and lower its temperature. Then, through another external pipe, the cooled coolant is transported again and injected back into the flow chamber L via the inlet 105. This cycle is repeated to achieve the heat dissipation effect of the liquid-cooled heat sink.

[0037] For further explanation, please refer to Figures 1 to 3In this embodiment, the liquid inlet 105 and liquid outlet 106 can be formed by pre-setting at least one connector opening 104 in the middle frame 1011 of the U-shaped frame 102 during the manufacturing of the heat dissipation assembly 100. Then, two heat dissipation assemblies 100 with the same structure are joined to form a liquid-cooled heat sink 10. The connector opening 104 then serves as the liquid inlet 105 and liquid outlet 106 of the liquid-cooled heat sink 10, and can be connected to external pipelines via a connector 200. In this embodiment, the liquid-cooled heat sink 10 is formed by joining two heat dissipation assemblies 100 with the same structure. The heat dissipation component 100 has one connector opening 104, which is located in the middle of the middle frame 1021. Therefore, when two heat dissipation components 100 are joined together to form a liquid-cooled heat sink 10, one connector opening 104 of one heat dissipation component 100 serves as the liquid inlet 105, while the other connector opening 104 of the other heat dissipation component 100 serves as the liquid outlet 106. The liquid inlet 105 and the liquid outlet 106 are located on opposite sides (i.e., different sides) of the liquid-cooled heat sink 10.

[0038] Please see Figure 5 and Figure 6 In the second embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink 20 has a plurality of liquid inlets 105 and a plurality of liquid outlets 106, and the plurality of liquid inlets 105 are located on opposite sides of the plurality of liquid outlets 106. For further explanation, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 5In the second embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink 20 is formed by joining two identical heat sink components 110, and the middle frame 1021 of the U-shaped frame 102 of the heat sink component 110 has a plurality of connector openings 104. In this embodiment, the number of connector openings 104 is four, but not limited thereto, and they are evenly distributed on the middle frame 1021. Therefore, when the two heat sink components 110 are joined together to form the liquid-cooled heat sink 20, the four connector openings 104 from one heat sink component 110 can serve as four liquid inlets 105, which are used to further connect four external pipes through connectors 200, and inject cooling liquid into the liquid flow chamber L through these four external pipes. The four connector openings 104 of the other heat dissipation component 110 serve as four liquid outlets 106, which are used to further connect to four external pipelines via connectors 200. This allows the cooling liquid flowing through the liquid flow chamber L to flow out to the external pipelines through these four outlets 106 for heat dissipation and circulation. In the liquid-cooled heat sink 20 of this embodiment, the four liquid inlets 105 are located on opposite sides of the four liquid outlets 106. It should be understood that, because the liquid-cooled heat sink 20 provided in this embodiment has four liquid inlets 105 and four liquid outlets 106, compared to the liquid-cooled heat sink 10 which only has one liquid inlet 105 and one liquid outlet 106, the volume of cooling liquid injected into and flowing out of the liquid flow chamber L per unit time is larger, and the efficiency of liquid cooling is relatively improved.

[0039] Please see Figures 7 to 9 In the third embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink 30 has a plurality of liquid inlets 105 and a plurality of liquid outlets 106, and these plurality of liquid inlets 105 are located on the same side of these plurality of liquid outlets 106. Furthermore, a long strip-shaped guide plate 300 is further disposed within the liquid flow chamber L of the liquid-cooled heat sink 30, between the plurality of liquid inlets 105 and the plurality of liquid outlets 106, so as to guide the cooling liquid injected from the liquid inlets 105 to a farther distance, preventing the cooling liquid immediately injected into the liquid flow chamber L from being directly discharged from the liquid outlets 106, thus affecting the heat dissipation efficiency. It should be understood that the form and number of the guide plate 300 can be designed according to actual application requirements; for example, the number of guide plates 300 can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. For further explanation, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 7In the third embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink 30 is formed by joining one heat sink component 120 and another heat sink component 130. The middle frame 1021 of the U-shaped frame 102 of the heat sink component 120 does not have a connector opening 104; conversely, a plurality of connector openings 104 are provided on the middle frame 1021 of the U-shaped frame 102 of the heat sink component 130. In this embodiment, there are six connector openings 104, evenly distributed on the middle frame 1021. When the heat sink components 120 and 130 are joined together to form the liquid-cooled heat sink 30, three of the six connector openings 104 located on one side can serve as liquid inlets 105, and the other three located on the other side can serve as liquid outlets 106. A long strip-shaped guide plate 300 is further provided between the three liquid inlets 105 and the three liquid outlets, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the guide plate 300 guides the flow direction of the cooling liquid flowing into the liquid flow chamber L from the three inlets 105, preventing turbulence within the chamber and ensuring smooth flow out from the three outlets 106. In this embodiment, the guide plate 300 is shaped like an O-shaped strip, as shown... Figure 9 As shown, it can be fixed in the liquid flow chamber L by fitting it with a plurality of heat dissipation columns 103 inside the liquid flow chamber L.

[0040] Please see Figure 10 and Figure 11 In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink 40 has a plurality of liquid inlets 105 and a plurality of liquid outlets 106, and the plurality of liquid inlets 105 are located on opposite sides of the plurality of liquid outlets 106, and are approximately located at diagonal positions of the liquid-cooled heat sink 40. In this embodiment, the liquid flow chamber L of the liquid-cooled heat sink 40 further includes a plurality of elongated strip-shaped guide plates 300 disposed within the liquid flow chamber L, between the plurality of liquid inlets 105 and the plurality of liquid outlets 106. For further explanation, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 10 In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the liquid-cooled heat sink 40 is formed by joining a heat sink component 140 and another heat sink component 150. The difference between heat sink component 140 and heat sink component 150 is that their joint openings 104 are located on the left and right halves of the middle frame 1021 of the U-shaped frame 102, respectively. Therefore, when heat sink component 140 and heat sink component 150 are joined to form the liquid-cooled heat sink 40, their joint openings 104 will be approximately located at diagonal positions on opposite sides of the liquid-cooled heat sink 40. Figure 11 As shown. In this embodiment, two guide plates 300 are further provided in the liquid flow chamber L to guide the flow direction of the cooling liquid flowing into the liquid flow chamber L and increase the flow path, thereby increasing the residence time of the cooling liquid in the liquid flow chamber L and thus improving the heat dissipation efficiency.

[0041] It should be understood that the position and number of the connector opening 104 and the guide plate 300 in the above embodiments can be adjusted according to the actual application. Each embodiment is only used as an example to illustrate the content of the present invention and should not be regarded as a limitation on the liquid-cooled heat sink claimed by the present invention. For example, the liquid inlet 105 and liquid outlet 106 can be provided on the same side or different sides of the liquid-cooled heat sink, and the number of liquid inlet 105 and liquid outlet 106 can be 1, 2, 3 or 4 each. Each liquid inlet 105 and liquid outlet 106 can be provided on the same side, partially on the same side or on different sides. In addition, the connector opening 104 can be pre-set in the middle frame 1021 of the heat dissipation component (such as heat dissipation component 100, 110, 130, 140, 150) as shown in the above embodiments, or two heat dissipation components (such as heat dissipation component 120) without pre-set connector opening 104 can be connected to form a liquid-cooled heat sink first, and then the opening can be made according to the actual application requirements.

[0042] In any of the above embodiments, the liquid-cooled heat sink (liquid-cooled heat sink 10, 20, 30, 40) of the present invention, wherein the heat dissipation component (such as heat dissipation component 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150) integral structure including heat dissipation column 103 and the U-shaped frame is manufactured by integral molding of a metal sheet / block, and the metal sheet / block is magnesium alloy or aluminum alloy.

[0043] In any of the above embodiments, the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention is formed by joining two heat dissipation components together with their inner surfaces 1011 facing each other, and then welding them together by laser welding. It should be understood that laser welding is a process of rapidly fusing two homogeneous or heterogeneous joint objects with a focused laser beam. By focusing a high-energy laser on a small area between the two joint objects, the thermal impact on the joint objects can be reduced. Therefore, to avoid the impact on the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the heat dissipation component material due to the large high-temperature welding area that may occur with traditional welding, laser welding is chosen to weld the heat dissipation components. Furthermore, laser welding differs from conventional brazing; it can weld homogeneous objects without the need for additional heterogeneous solders, maintaining physical properties such as rigidity, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity. These properties make the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention significantly superior to other similar products when used for heat dissipation in lithium battery modules. For example, the strong rigidity and homogeneous welding make the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention less prone to deformation or weld breakage when applied to the heat dissipation of lithium battery modules, thus providing higher safety.

[0044] In one embodiment, the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention (liquid-cooled heat sink 10, 20, 30, 40, hereinafter exemplarily described using 10 as an example) is used for heat dissipation of plate-shaped or sheet-shaped lithium battery modules. Therefore, in order to match the size design of the lithium battery module and maintain effective heat dissipation, the liquid-cooled heat sink 10 of the present invention is a plate-shaped structure with a length of about 250mm-600mm, a width of about 150mm-450mm, and a thickness of about 10mm-30mm, so as to facilitate its placement among plate-shaped or sheet-shaped lithium batteries 500.

[0045] In one embodiment, the liquid-cooled heat sink (liquid-cooled heat sink 10, 20, 30, 40) of the present invention uses water as the cooling liquid, especially softened water, to avoid scale formation after long-term use. In other embodiments, an antifreeze agent (e.g., ethylene glycol) may be added to the cooling liquid depending on the actual application to prevent the cooling liquid from freezing and becoming ineffective when the ambient temperature is below zero degrees Celsius.

[0046] Please see Figure 12 and Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of a lithium battery module (S100, S200) according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a liquid-cooled heat sink of any of the above embodiments of the present invention (the diagram illustrates the liquid-cooled heat sink 10 as an example). In one embodiment, a lithium battery module (S100, S200) of the present invention includes a plurality of liquid-cooled heat sinks 10 of any of the above embodiments, and a plurality of sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries 500, wherein the liquid-cooled heat sinks 10 are alternately arranged between the plurality of sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries 500. In any embodiment, in the above-mentioned lithium battery module (S100, S200), at least one sheet-like or plate-like lithium battery 500 is included between two adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks 10.

[0047] In one embodiment, in a lithium battery module (S200) of the present invention, two sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries 500 are included between two adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks 10. As mentioned above, since the liquid flow chamber L of the liquid-cooled heat sink (liquid-cooled heat sinks 10, 20, 30, 40) of the present invention has a number of heat dissipation columns 103, it has a significantly larger heat dissipation area compared to other liquid-cooled heat sinks, and can more efficiently exchange heat with the cooling liquid. At the same time, multiple inlets 105 and multiple outlets 106 can be designed according to the actual application to increase the flow rate of the cooling liquid, so as to achieve a faster heat dissipation effect. Therefore, even if two sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries are included between two adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks 10, the temperature of the lithium battery module S200 can be maintained at the operating temperature, and the overall lithium battery module S200 has a lighter total weight.

[0048] Of course, the above embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any equivalent modifications or alterations made to a liquid-cooled heat sink or a lithium battery module including the liquid-cooled heat sink according to the above embodiments should still be included within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0049] It is worth mentioning that the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention, applicable to lithium battery modules, is manufactured using a one-piece molding process with a single metal sheet. This not only significantly increases the total heat dissipation area of ​​the liquid-cooled heat sink, improving thermal conductivity and heat diffusion efficiency, but also gives it higher rigidity and resistance to deformation. Its performance in heat dissipation efficiency, durability, and reliability is superior to that of conventional liquid-cooled heat dissipation devices. Overall, the liquid-cooled heat sink of the present invention for lithium battery modules has the following advantages:

[0050] 1. Liquid-cooled heat sinks have many heat dissipation columns inside, have strong structural rigidity, can be made into thinner liquid-cooled heat sinks, are not easy to break, and have high safety.

[0051] 2. It has a significantly larger heat dissipation and heat exchange area, resulting in better heat dissipation efficiency.

[0052] 3. Using laser welding for homogeneous welding results in a stronger weld joint than conventional low-temperature brazing, making it less prone to cracking and safer than traditional brazing.

[0053] 4. Not only is the heat dissipation area much larger than that of a typical liquid-cooled heat sink with flow channels, but the presence and distribution of the heat dissipation columns also increase the disturbance and mixing of the cooling liquid, making the temperature distribution of the cooling liquid more uniform than that of a liquid-cooled heat sink with flow channels, and the overall temperature difference of the heat dissipation device is smaller.

[0054] It is evident that this invention, by breaking through existing technologies, has indeed achieved the desired enhanced effects, and is not something that those familiar with the art would easily conceive of.

[0055] The above description is merely illustrative and not restrictive. Any equivalent modifications or alterations made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention should be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A liquid-cooled heat sink, characterized in that, include: Two heat dissipation components, each having: A rectangular plate includes an inner surface and an opposing outer surface; three sides of the inner surface are provided with a U-shaped frame of appropriate height, and a plurality of heat dissipation columns are provided on the inner surface; the height of the middle frame of the U-shaped frame is twice the height of the two side frames, and the height of the heat dissipation columns is not higher than the two side frames of the U-shaped frame; the liquid-cooled heat sink is formed by welding two heat dissipation components together with their inner surfaces facing each other, and the middle frame of the U-shaped frame of one heat dissipation component is joined to the opening of the U-shaped frame of the other heat dissipation component to form a liquid-cooled heat sink with a liquid flow chamber; wherein the overall structure of the heat dissipation component, including the heat dissipation columns and the U-shaped frame, is integrally formed from a metal sheet; At least one inlet port is provided for connecting to an external pipeline to allow a cooling liquid to enter the liquid flow chamber; and At least one outlet is provided for connecting to an external pipeline to allow the cooling liquid to flow out of the liquid flow chamber; The liquid inlet and the liquid outlet are located on the same side or different sides of the liquid-cooled heat sink.

2. The liquid-cooled heat sink as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The overall structure of the heat dissipation component, including the heat dissipation column and the U-shaped frame, is manufactured as a single piece of metal sheet / block, which is made of magnesium alloy or aluminum alloy.

3. The liquid-cooled heat sink as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid-cooled heat sink is made by joining two heat sink components together with their inner surfaces facing each other and then welding them together by laser welding.

4. The liquid-cooled heat sink as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The fluid flow chamber also includes at least one guide plate.

5. The liquid-cooled heat sink as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It is used for heat dissipation of a plate-shaped or sheet-shaped lithium battery module, and the liquid-cooled heat sink is a plate-shaped structure with a length of about 250mm-600mm, a width of about 150mm-450mm, and a thickness of about 10mm-30mm.

6. The liquid-cooled heat sink as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cooling liquid is water.

7. A lithium battery module, characterized in that, The device comprises a plurality of liquid-cooled heat sinks as described in claim 1, and a plurality of sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries, wherein the liquid-cooled heat sinks are alternately arranged between the plurality of sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries.

8. The lithium battery module as described in claim 7, characterized in that, At least one sheet or plate-shaped lithium battery is contained between two adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks.

9. The lithium battery module as described in claim 7, characterized in that, Two adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks contain two sheet-like or plate-like lithium batteries.

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