Liquid cooling plate and battery module

Abstract

The utility model discloses a liquid cooling plate and a battery module, the liquid cooling plate comprises a liquid cooling plate main body and a plug assembly used for plugging the liquid cooling plate main body, one end of the plug assembly is provided with a flow equalizing structure with a plurality of openings, the liquid cooling plate main body is internally provided with a flow channel, and the flow channel is communicated with the plug assembly. And the flow equalizing structure is inserted into the liquid cooling plate main body and extends to the flow dividing position of the flow channel, so that the flow of the flow channel is uniform. On one hand, through the cooperation between the flow equalizing structure and the internal flow channel of the liquid cooling plate, the flow consistency and pressure equalization in each branch flow channel can be realized, the temperature uniformity of the liquid cooling plate is ensured, and the service life of the battery module is prolonged; and on the other hand, by adopting the sectional material splicing design of the plug assembly and the liquid cooling plate main body, the cleanliness of the interior of the flow channel is ensured, the precision requirement for processing the end part of the liquid cooling plate is reduced, and the visual detection of the plug assembly is favorably realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of energy storage technology, and in particular to a liquid cooling plate and a battery module. Background Art

[0002] With the increasing severity of environmental pollution and the depletion of traditional energy, the comprehensive development of new energy technologies has attracted more and more attention. In the field of electrochemical energy storage, the battery application technology using containers as a storage method is a key technology. The container is equipped with a battery pack, which has high requirements for the insulation performance of the product during production, transportation, assembly and use, and the battery will continue to generate heat during operation; therefore, how to achieve uniform heat dissipation of the battery and improve the safety performance of the battery is an important issue that the entire new energy industry needs to pay attention to and solve.

[0003] At present, the more mature technical solution is to install a liquid cooling plate in the battery module and circulate the coolant in the liquid cooling plate flow channel to achieve heat exchange between the liquid cooling plate and the battery. However, it is difficult to ensure the consistency of the flow channel of the liquid cooling plate in the existing technology. At the same time, it is affected by the traditional processing technology, resulting in certain differences in the heat exchange performance of batch products, and it is impossible to achieve comprehensive quality inspection of the liquid cooling plate. Utility Model Content

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a liquid cooling plate and a battery module to achieve the technical effects of ensuring the consistency of flow rates in each branch flow channel, facilitating uniform heat dissipation of the battery module, and achieving comprehensive quality inspection of the liquid cooling plate.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present application, a liquid cooling plate is provided, comprising: a liquid cooling plate body, and a plug assembly for plugging the liquid cooling plate body,

[0006] A flow balancing structure with multiple openings is provided at one end of the plug assembly, a flow channel is provided inside the liquid cooling plate body, and the flow balancing structure is inserted into the liquid cooling plate body and extends to the diversion position of the flow channel to make the flow of the flow channel uniform.

[0007] Furthermore, the plug assembly includes a first plug and a second plug.

[0008] The first plug and the second plug both include inner ends, and the inner ends of the first plug and the second plug both extend upward to form the flow-sharing structure with a plurality of openings;

[0009] The inner end of the first plug is inserted into the front end of the liquid cooling plate body, and the inner end of the second plug is inserted into the rear end of the liquid cooling plate body.

[0010] Furthermore, the first plug and the second plug further include outer ends, and the outer ends are exposed outside the liquid cooling plate body.

[0011] The size of the outer end of the first plug is adapted to the size of the front end of the liquid cooling plate body, and the size of the outer end of the second plug is adapted to the size of the rear end of the liquid cooling plate body.

[0012] Furthermore, the interior of the liquid cooling plate body includes a plurality of protruding structures, and the spaced cavities between the plurality of protruding structures form flow channels inside the liquid cooling plate body.

[0013] Furthermore, the flow balancing structure of the first plug abuts against the front ends of the plurality of protruding structures in the liquid cooling plate body, and the flow balancing structure of the second plug abuts against the rear ends of the plurality of protruding structures in the liquid cooling plate body.

[0014] Furthermore, the flow channel of the liquid cooling plate body includes a left flow channel and a right flow channel, and the left flow channel and the right flow channel are both composed of a plurality of spaced cavities connected in parallel, and the left flow channel and the right flow channel are connected in series.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes: a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet,

[0016] The liquid inlet and the liquid outlet are located on the same side of the liquid cooling plate body and are arranged close to the front end of the liquid cooling plate body. The liquid inlet is communicated with the inlet of the flow channel, and the liquid outlet is communicated with the outlet of the flow channel.

[0017] Further, the opening of the flow balancing structure of the first plug corresponds to the opening of the flow balancing structure of the second plug;

[0018] Furthermore, the opening size of the flow balancing structure of the first plug or the second plug is different, wherein the opening size of the flow balancing structure near the liquid inlet or the liquid outlet is smaller than the opening size of the flow balancing structure far from the liquid inlet or the liquid outlet.

[0019] According to a second aspect of the present application, a battery module is provided, comprising: a liquid cooling plate as described in any one of the first aspects above.

[0020] Furthermore, the battery module also includes: an energy storage battery,

[0021] The energy storage battery is arranged above the liquid cooling plate.

[0022] A box cover is arranged outside the energy storage battery, and a panel for controlling the energy storage battery is installed on the front of the box cover.

[0023] The advantages and beneficial effects of this application are: on the one hand, by setting a flow-equalizing structure with multiple openings of different sizes at one end of the plug assembly, and by the coordination between the flow-equalizing structure and the internal flow channel of the liquid cooling plate, the flow rate in each branch flow channel is consistent and the pressure is balanced; on the other hand, by adopting a splicing design between the plug assembly and the main body of the liquid cooling plate, a visual full inspection of the plugs at the front and rear ends of the liquid cooling plate is achieved, reducing the precision requirements for the processing of the ends of the liquid cooling plate. Therefore, this application can achieve the technical effects of being conducive to uniform heat dissipation of the battery module, achieving comprehensive quality inspection of the liquid cooling plate, and improving the safe service life of the battery. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a liquid cooling plate in one embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a liquid cooling plate in one embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the internal flow channel of the liquid cooling plate in one embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic structural diagram of a first plug in one embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second plug in one embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a battery module in one embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a battery module in one embodiment of the present application;

[0032] In the figure: 1. Liquid cooling plate; 2. Energy storage battery; 3. Box cover; 4. Panel;

[0033] 11. Liquid cooling plate body; 12. First plug; 13. Second plug; 14. Liquid inlet; 15. Liquid outlet; 111. Protruding structure; 112. Flow channel; 121. Inner end of the first plug; 122. Outer end of the first plug; 1211. Flow balancing structure of the first plug; 131. Inner end of the second plug; 132. Outer end of the second plug; 1311. Flow balancing structure of the second plug. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solution of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in combination with the specific embodiments of the present application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0035] The technical solutions provided by various embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0036] Combination Figures 1 to 5 As shown, in one embodiment of the present application, a liquid cooling plate is proposed, comprising: a liquid cooling plate body 11, and a plug assembly for sealing the liquid cooling plate body 11, such as a first plug 12 and a second plug 13, one end of the plug assembly is provided with a flow equalizing structure having a plurality of openings, and a flow channel 112 is provided inside the liquid cooling plate body; the flow equalizing structure is inserted into the interior of the liquid cooling plate body 11 and extends to the diversion position of the flow channel 112, so as to make the flow of the flow channel 112 uniform.

[0037] Preferably, if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the liquid cooling plate body and the plug assembly can be formed by welding aluminum profiles. Compared with the liquid cooling plate made by stamping and brazing process in the prior art, the liquid cooling plate described in the present application has a higher flatness advantage, and its flatness can be controlled within 0.5mm.

[0038] It can be seen that the technical solution of the present application adopts a welding design combining the plug assembly and the liquid cooling plate body. On the one hand, through the coordination between the plug flow-sharing structure and the internal flow channel of the liquid cooling plate, the flow rate and pressure balance in each branch flow channel can be achieved, ensuring the temperature uniformity of the liquid cooling plate and the consistency of thermal management of each battery cell, thereby improving the operating life of the battery module; on the other hand, since the liquid cooling plate described in the present application only has milling processing and conventional welding processes in the production process, and no auxiliary materials such as brazing flux are added, the relevant pollution sources are prevented from entering the flow channel, which not only ensures the cleanliness of the flow channel, eliminates the risk of blockage of the flow channel during subsequent use, but also helps to achieve visual full inspection of the plug assembly. At the same time, since the existing scheme often uses milling machine processing technology to form the flow channel, and its precision is poor, the embodiment of the present application can form the flow channel by extruding the profile to reduce the precision requirements of the end processing of the liquid cooling plate.

[0039] Further, refer to Figures 3 to 5As shown, the plug assembly includes a first plug 12 and a second plug 13, the first plug 12 and the second plug 13 both include inner ends, the inner end 121 of the first plug and the inner end 131 of the second plug both extend upward to form the flow-sharing structure with a plurality of openings, for example, including a flow-sharing structure 1211 of the first plug and a flow-sharing structure 1311 of the second plug;

[0040] The inner end portion 121 of the first plug is inserted into the front end of the liquid cooling plate body 11 , and the inner end portion 131 of the second plug is inserted into the rear end of the liquid cooling plate body 11 .

[0041] Furthermore, the first plug 12 and the second plug 13 further include outer ends, and the outer ends are exposed outside the liquid cooling plate body 11, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the size of the outer end portion 122 of the first plug is adapted to the size of the front end of the liquid cooling plate body 11, and the size of the outer end portion 132 of the second plug is adapted to the size of the rear end of the liquid cooling plate body 11. Of course, the above sizes can be set and adjusted by those skilled in the art, and the present application does not impose specific restrictions on the sizes of the plug assembly and the liquid cooling plate body.

[0042] Furthermore, the liquid cooling plate body 11 includes a plurality of protruding structures 111 inside, and the spaced cavities between the plurality of protruding structures 111 form flow channels 112 inside the liquid cooling plate body 11. For simplicity, only one protruding structure and one flow channel are labeled in the figure.

[0043] Reference Figure 3 It can be seen that the protrusion structure 111 can be divided into a thinner protrusion structure (such as a width of 3.1 mm) and a thicker protrusion structure (such as a width of 25.1-33.1 mm), and the two protrusion structures are arranged alternately, and the interval cavity between the protrusion structures forms a flow channel for the circulation of the coolant. Therefore, the flow channel described in the present application is shorter in length and has a smaller flow resistance, which is conducive to the coolant quickly taking away the heat conducted from the battery to the liquid cooling plate.

[0044] Preferably, the flow channel 112 of the liquid cooling plate body 11 includes a left flow channel and a right flow channel, and the left flow channel and the right flow channel are both composed of a plurality of spaced cavities connected in parallel, and the left flow channel and the right flow channel are connected in series. In other words, the raised structure 111 located at the midline position of the liquid cooling plate body 11 extends to the front end of the liquid cooling plate body 11, dividing the flow channel 112 into left and right flow channels connected in series, and the left flow channel and the right flow channel both include a plurality of branch flow channels connected in parallel.

[0045] For further information, please refer to Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the flow balancing structure 1211 of the first plug abuts against the front ends of the plurality of protruding structures 111 in the liquid cooling plate body, and the flow balancing structure 1311 of the second plug abuts against the rear ends of the plurality of protruding structures 111 in the liquid cooling plate body.

[0046] In this embodiment, the flow balancing structure is abutted against the protruding structure, so that the flow rate of the coolant flowing through the front and rear ends of the flow channel can be changed by designing flow balancing structures with different opening sizes, thereby achieving the technical effect of balanced flow channel pressure and consistent flow rate.

[0047] Furthermore, if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the liquid cooling plate also includes: a liquid inlet 14 and a liquid outlet 15, the liquid inlet 14 and the liquid outlet 15 are located on the same side of the liquid cooling plate body 11 and are arranged close to the front end of the liquid cooling plate body 11, the liquid inlet 14 is connected to the inlet of the flow channel 112, and the liquid outlet 15 is connected to the outlet of the flow channel 112.

[0048] Specifically, after the coolant is introduced, the coolant flows in from the liquid inlet 14, and after being evenly distributed through the flow equalizing structure 1211 of the first plug, it flows into the various branch flow channels in the left flow channel, and then passes through the flow equalizing structure 1311 of the second plug and converges, and then the coolant is diverted into the various branch flow channels in the right flow channel through the flow equalizing structure 1311 of the second plug, and finally the coolant passes through the flow equalizing structure 1211 of the first plug and flows out from the liquid outlet 15.

[0049] Preferably, since the liquid cooling plate described in the present application adopts a butt-welded design, before the liquid cooling plate is processed, it only includes parts such as the liquid cooling plate body 11, the first plug 12, the second plug 13, the liquid inlet 14 and the liquid outlet 15, so the technical solution of the present application has good mass production capabilities.

[0050] Further, Figure 4 The B area in the figure is the local enlarged area of ​​the first plug current sharing structure. Figure 5 The A area in the figure is a local enlarged area of ​​the second plug flow-sharing structure. Figures 3 to 5 It can be seen that the opening of the flow-sharing structure 1211 of the first plug corresponds to the opening of the flow-sharing structure 1311 of the second plug; and the sizes of the openings on the flow-sharing structure 1211 of the first plug are different, and the sizes of the openings on the flow-sharing structure 1311 of the second plug are different;

[0051] At the same time, since the distances between the inlet and outlet are different from each branch flow channel, the flow distribution is uneven and the flow and pressure near the inlet and outlet are larger. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the opening size of the flow equalizing structure near the inlet 14 or the outlet 15 should be smaller than the opening size of the flow equalizing structure far away from the inlet 14 or the outlet 15; that is to say, the present application matches each branch flow channel with a flow equalizing structure of different opening sizes. This design can ensure that the flow resistance through each branch flow channel is small, the flow rate is consistent, and the pressure is balanced.

[0052] Of course, the present application does not impose any restrictions on the size of the opening; it can be understood that the opening size of the flow balancing structure is designed to match the flow channel size and the position of the inlet and outlet to achieve flow balancing. Therefore, the opening size of the flow balancing structure can also be designed to be the same and to match the flow channel to achieve the effect of flow balancing.

[0053] Preferably, each parallel branch flow channel may adopt the same size, for example, the width of the flow channel is 18.9mm and the length is 934mm; the inner end 121 of the first plug is divided into two sections, and the opening size of the first section on the flow equalizing structure 1211 of the first plug is 9mm, 6mm, 5mm, 5mm, 6.5mm, 14mm, 23mm, 18.9mm, 5mm; the opening size of the second section on the flow equalizing structure 1211 of the first plug is 7mm, 6mm, 7mm, 6mm, 5mm, 5mm, 6mm, 9mm; the opening size on the flow equalizing structure 1311 of the second plug is 9mm, 5mm, 5mm, 5mm, 6.5mm, 11mm, 40.9mm, 5mm, 29.4mm, 6mm, 5mm, 6mm, 5mm, 6mm, 9mm.

[0054] In another embodiment of the present application, Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, a battery module is proposed, comprising a liquid cooling plate 1 as described in any one of the above embodiments, the battery module further comprising an energy storage battery 2, the energy storage battery 2 being arranged above the liquid cooling plate 1, a box cover 3 being arranged outside the energy storage battery 2, and a panel 4 for controlling the energy storage battery 2 being installed on the front of the box cover 3. Preferably, the panel is also provided with one or more components selected from the group consisting of a communication connector, a power connector, a fire sprinkler, a busbar, a battery management module BMU, and a fuse.

[0055] It can be seen that the application of the above-mentioned liquid cooling plate to the battery module can enable each energy storage battery in the battery module to achieve the technical effect of liquid cooling circulation heat dissipation, thereby extending the service life of each component in the battery module; at the same time, due to the high cleanliness of the internal flow channel of the liquid cooling plate, it can ensure that the conductivity of the circulating coolant is maintained within 5μS / cm, so the battery module can also be applied to high-voltage energy storage systems above 10KV.

[0056] It should be noted that the position, shape, size, position of the inlet and outlet of each flow channel in the present application, and the position and size of the flow equalization structure on the plug assembly are merely exemplary descriptions and cannot be regarded as limitations on the present application.

[0057] In summary, this application proposes a liquid cooling plate and a battery module. On the one hand, by setting a flow-sharing structure with multiple openings of different sizes at one end of the plug assembly, and by coordinating the flow-sharing structure with the internal flow channel of the liquid cooling plate, the flow rate in each branch flow channel is consistent and the pressure is balanced; on the other hand, by adopting a splicing design between the plug assembly and the main body of the liquid cooling plate, a visual full inspection of the front and rear end plugs is achieved, reducing the precision requirements for the processing of the end of the liquid cooling plate. Therefore, this application can achieve the technical effects of being conducive to uniform heat dissipation of the battery module, realizing comprehensive quality inspection of the liquid cooling plate, and improving the safe service life of the battery.

[0058] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", etc. indicate directions or positional relationships based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0059] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms such as "connection" and "fixation" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or communication with each other; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0060] It should be noted that, in the description of the present utility model, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more. It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "include one..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

[0061] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the utility model. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0062] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present invention. Under the above teaching of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make other improvements or modifications based on the above embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above specific description is only to better explain the purpose of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A liquid cooling plate, characterized in that: include: A liquid cooling plate body, and a plug assembly for plugging the liquid cooling plate body, A flow balancing structure with multiple openings is provided at one end of the plug assembly, a flow channel is provided inside the liquid cooling plate body, and the flow balancing structure is inserted into the liquid cooling plate body and extends to the diversion position of the flow channel to make the flow of the flow channel uniform.

2. The liquid cooling plate according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plug assembly comprises a first plug and a second plug, The first plug and the second plug both include inner ends, and the inner ends of the first plug and the second plug both extend upward to form the flow-sharing structure with a plurality of openings; The inner end of the first plug is inserted into the front end of the liquid cooling plate body, and the inner end of the second plug is inserted into the rear end of the liquid cooling plate body.

3. The liquid cooling plate according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first plug and the second plug further include outer ends, and the outer ends are exposed outside the liquid cooling plate body. The size of the outer end of the first plug is adapted to the size of the front end of the liquid cooling plate body, and the size of the outer end of the second plug is adapted to the size of the rear end of the liquid cooling plate body.

4. The liquid cooling plate according to claim 3, characterized in that: The interior of the liquid cooling plate body includes a plurality of protruding structures, and the spaced cavities between the plurality of protruding structures form flow channels inside the liquid cooling plate body.

5. The liquid cooling plate according to claim 4, characterized in that: The flow balancing structure of the first plug abuts against the front ends of the plurality of protruding structures in the liquid cooling plate body, and the flow balancing structure of the second plug abuts against the rear ends of the plurality of protruding structures in the liquid cooling plate body.

6. The liquid cooling plate according to claim 4, characterized in that: The flow channel of the liquid cooling plate body includes a left flow channel and a right flow channel, and the left flow channel and the right flow channel are both composed of a plurality of spaced cavities connected in parallel, and the left flow channel and the right flow channel are connected in series.

7. The liquid cooling plate according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: Liquid inlet and outlet, The liquid inlet and the liquid outlet are located on the same side of the liquid cooling plate body and are arranged close to the front end of the liquid cooling plate body. The liquid inlet is communicated with the inlet of the flow channel, and the liquid outlet is communicated with the outlet of the flow channel.

8. The liquid cooling plate according to claim 7, characterized in that: The opening of the flow-sharing structure of the first plug corresponds to the opening of the flow-sharing structure of the second plug; Furthermore, the opening size of the flow balancing structure of the first plug or the second plug is different, wherein the opening size of the flow balancing structure near the liquid inlet or the liquid outlet is smaller than the opening size of the flow balancing structure far from the liquid inlet or the liquid outlet.

9. A battery module, characterized in that: include: A liquid cooling plate as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The battery module according to claim 9, characterized in that: Also includes: An energy storage battery, wherein the energy storage battery is arranged above the liquid cooling plate, A box cover is arranged outside the energy storage battery, and a panel for controlling the energy storage battery is installed on the front of the box cover.

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