Cold plate mounting structure and battery pack

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of liquid cooling plates, in particular to a cold plate mounting structure and a battery pack. The cold plate mounting structure is applied to the battery pack and comprises a lower box body, a runner plate and a flat plate, the lower box body is provided with an assembly cavity with an opening in one end, and the runner plate and the flat plate are sequentially arranged in the assembly cavity through the opening. The runner plate comprises a main plate and a turnup arranged on the peripheral side of the main plate, the bottom wall, away from the opening, of the assembly cavity is used for supporting the main plate, an included angle is formed between the turnup and the main plate, and the turnup is attached to and connected to the side wall of the assembly cavity. Wherein a runner groove is formed in the main plate, and the flat plate is connected to the main plate so as to cover a groove opening of the runner groove. According to the cold plate mounting structure and the battery pack provided by the invention, the problem that the strength and the cost cannot be considered when the existing liquid cooling plate is mounted is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of liquid cooling plates, and in particular to a cooling plate mounting structure and a battery pack. Background Art

[0002] The battery pack is the power core of electric vehicles. It contains battery cells. Usually, the battery cells generate a lot of heat when working. If the heat cannot be discharged in time, it is easy to cause the battery cells to catch fire or explode. Therefore, a liquid cooling plate is often set in the battery pack to cool the battery cells.

[0003] In the related art, due to the insufficient load-bearing performance of the liquid cooling plate, a support bracket structure is often required between the liquid cooling plate and the battery pack body to support the liquid cooling plate and the battery cell module installed on the liquid cooling plate. However, the setting of the support bracket not only increases the assembly process, resulting in an increase in the cost of the battery pack, but also occupies a certain amount of the longitudinal space of the battery pack, which is not conducive to further improving the energy density. Utility Model Content

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a cold plate installation structure and a battery pack to solve the problem that the existing liquid cooling plate installation cannot take into account both strength and cost.

[0005] The present application provides a cold plate mounting structure, which is applied to a battery pack, wherein the cold plate mounting structure comprises a lower box body, a flow channel plate and a flat plate, wherein the lower box body is provided with an assembly cavity having an opening at one end, and the flow channel plate and the flat plate are sequentially mounted in the assembly cavity through the opening; the flow channel plate comprises a main board and a flange arranged on the peripheral side of the main board, and the bottom wall of the assembly cavity away from the opening is used to support the main board, the flange is arranged at an angle to the main board, and the flange is attached to and connected to the side wall of the assembly cavity; wherein a flow channel groove is provided on the main board, and the flat plate is connected to the main board to cover the notch of the flow channel groove.

[0006] In one embodiment, the height of the flange is greater than or equal to 20 mm.

[0007] In one of the embodiments, a reinforcing rib is formed on the flange, and a reinforcing cavity is formed between the reinforcing rib and the inner wall of the assembly cavity.

[0008] In one of the embodiments, along the height direction of the flange, the reinforcing rib extends to both ends of the flange.

[0009] In one embodiment, there are multiple reinforcing ribs, and the multiple reinforcing ribs are arranged on the flange at intervals along the circumference of the assembly cavity.

[0010] In one embodiment, the main board and the flange are an integral die-cast structure.

[0011] In one embodiment, the flow channel plate and the flat plate are bonded and fixed.

[0012] In one of the embodiments, the cold plate mounting structure further includes a fastener, and the fastener passes through and connects the flat plate and the flow channel plate.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, a water inlet joint and a water outlet joint are connected to the flat plate, and both the water inlet joint and the water outlet joint are in communication with the flow channel groove.

[0014] The present application also provides a battery pack, which includes the cold plate mounting structure described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the cold plate mounting structure and battery pack provided by the present application can effectively fix the flow channel plate and the lower box by setting a flange on the flow channel plate and directly connecting the flange with the side wall of the lower box. That is, the flow channel plate of the present application integrates the support bracket structure in the related technology, merges the original two parts into one, reduces the number of parts on the basis of ensuring the original support performance, thereby reducing the manufacturing and assembly processes, effectively improving production efficiency and reducing costs. At the same time, the reduction of parts also further increases the internal space of the battery pack, which is conducive to further improving the energy density of the battery pack. Among them, the bottom wall of the assembly cavity provides support and protection for the flow channel plate, thereby ensuring the safety of the flow channel plate. Further, by connecting the flat plate with the main board and making the flat plate cover the notch of the flow channel groove to form a complete flow channel structure, the sealing of the flow channel groove can be ensured, which is conducive to avoiding leakage of the internal coolant and improving safety. In addition, the split design of the flat plate and the flow channel plate is conducive to processing the flat plate and the flow channel plate separately, thereby effectively reducing the processing difficulty of the flow channel plate and the flow channel groove on the flow channel plate, and further reducing the processing cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the conventional technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the conventional technology descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a cold plate installation structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0019] Figure 3 An exploded view of a cold plate mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 4 A top view of a flow channel plate according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] The symbols in the figure mean the following:

[0022] 100, cold plate installation structure; 10, lower box; 101, assembly cavity; 102, opening; 20, flow channel plate; 21, main board; 2101, flow channel groove; 2102, glue containing groove; 22, flange; 2201, reinforcement cavity; 221, reinforcement rib; 30, flat plate; 40, fastener; 50, water inlet joint; 60, water outlet joint. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present application, so the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0024] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another component, it may be directly on the other component or there may also be a central component. When a component is considered to be "connected to" another component, it may be directly connected to the other component or there may be a central component at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in the specification of this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0025] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0026] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being “above” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly in contact with the second feature, or the first feature and the second feature are in contact indirectly through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being “above”, “above”, or “above” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being “below”, “below”, or “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0027] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the specification of this application have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application. The term "and / or" used in the specification of this application includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0028] The battery pack is the power core of electric vehicles. It contains battery cells. Usually, the battery cells generate a lot of heat when working. If the heat cannot be discharged in time, it is easy to cause the battery cells to catch fire or explode. Therefore, a liquid cooling plate is often set in the battery pack to cool the battery cells.

[0029] In the related art, due to the insufficient load-bearing performance of the liquid cooling plate, a support bracket structure is often required between the liquid cooling plate and the battery pack body to support the liquid cooling plate and the battery cell module installed on the liquid cooling plate. However, the setting of the support bracket not only increases the assembly process, resulting in an increase in the cost of the battery pack, but also occupies a certain amount of the longitudinal space of the battery pack, which is not conducive to further improving the energy density.

[0030] See also Figure 1-Figure 4 In order to solve the problem that the existing liquid cooling plate cannot take into account both strength and cost when installing, the present application provides a cold plate installation structure 100, which is applied to a battery pack.

[0031] Specifically, the cold plate mounting structure 100 provided in the present application includes a lower box 10, a flow channel plate 20 and a flat plate 30. The lower box 10 is provided with an assembly cavity 101 having an opening 102 at one end. The flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30 are sequentially installed in the assembly cavity 101 through the opening 102. The flow channel plate 20 includes a main board 21 and a flange 22 arranged on the side of the main board 21. The bottom wall of the assembly cavity 101 away from the opening 102 is used to support the main board 21. The flange 22 is arranged at an angle with the main board 21, and the flange 22 is attached to and connected to the side wall of the assembly cavity 101. Among them, a flow channel groove 2101 is opened on the main board 21, and the flat plate 30 is connected to the main board 21 to cover the notch of the flow channel groove 2101.

[0032] The present application can effectively fix the flow channel plate 20 and the lower box 10 by setting a flange 22 on the flow channel plate 20 and directly connecting the flange 22 to the side wall of the lower box 10. That is, the flow channel plate 20 of the present application integrates the support bracket structure in the relevant technology, merges the original two parts into one, reduces the number of parts on the basis of ensuring the original support performance, thereby reducing the manufacturing and assembly processes, effectively improving production efficiency and reducing costs. At the same time, the reduction of parts also further increases the internal space of the battery pack, which is conducive to further improving the energy density of the battery pack. Among them, the bottom wall of the assembly cavity 101 provides support and protection for the flow channel plate 20, thereby ensuring the safety of the flow channel plate 20. Furthermore, by connecting the flat plate 30 to the main board 21 and making the flat plate 30 cover the notch of the flow channel groove 2101 to form a complete flow channel structure, the sealing of the flow channel groove 2101 can be ensured, which is conducive to avoiding leakage of the internal coolant and improving safety. Furthermore, the split design of the flat plate 30 and the flow channel plate 20 facilitates the separate processing of the flat plate 30 and the flow channel plate 20, thereby effectively reducing the processing difficulty of the flow channel plate 20 and the flow channel groove 2101 on the flow channel plate 20, and further reducing the processing cost.

[0033] In one embodiment, in order to ensure the structural strength of the flow channel plate 20 and further improve the support performance of the flow channel plate 20, the material of the flow channel plate 20 is preferably steel. Of course, the flow channel plate 20 can also be made of aluminum or steel-aluminum composite materials as needed.

[0034] In one embodiment, the height of the flange 22 is greater than or equal to 20 mm. In this way, it is possible to ensure that there is sufficient contact area between the flow channel plate 20 and the side wall of the lower box body 10, thereby effectively ensuring a reliable connection between the flow channel plate 20 and the lower box body 10, and greatly enhancing the structural strength of the battery pack.

[0035] Exemplarily, the height of the flange 22 can be set to 20 mm, 22 mm, 24 mm or 26 mm, etc., which are not listed here one by one.

[0036] Further, in one embodiment, if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a reinforcing rib 221 is formed on the flange 22, and a reinforcing cavity 2201 is formed between the reinforcing rib 221 and the inner wall of the assembly cavity 101. The setting of the reinforcing cavity 2201 can enhance the structural strength of the flange 22, so as to further enhance the overall connection structural strength between the lower box body 10 and the flow channel plate 20.

[0037] Furthermore, in one embodiment, there are multiple reinforcing ribs 221 , and the multiple reinforcing ribs 221 are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the assembly cavity 101 on the flange 22 , thereby further improving the overall structural strength of the battery pack.

[0038] Specifically, the lower box body 10 in this embodiment has four side walls, wherein preferably, at least four reinforcing ribs 221 are provided on the flange 22 corresponding to each side wall to better increase the structural strength.

[0039] However, it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, five, six or more reinforcing ribs 221 may be provided on the flange 22 corresponding to each side wall, and the specific reinforcing ribs 221 may be reasonably provided according to actual needs.

[0040] In one embodiment, if Figure 2 As shown, along the height direction of the flange 22, the reinforcing rib 221 extends to both ends of the flange 22. That is, the reinforcing cavity 2201 is through-shaped, so that when the lower box 10 and the flow channel plate 20 are subjected to surface treatment, the electrophoretic liquid can flow through the reinforcing cavity 2201 to ensure that the electrophoretic liquid is in full contact with the surface thereof. At the same time, the reinforcing cavity 2201 can prevent the electrophoretic liquid from being retained in the cavity formed inside, which is conducive to the normal progress of subsequent production.

[0041] Generally, the flow channel plate 20 is provided with a number of through-hole features or reinforcing features such as reinforcing structures for connection or positioning. Based on this, in order to facilitate the molding of through-holes and reinforcing structures, in one embodiment, the main board 21 and the flange 22 can be set as an integral die-casting structure. By die-casting the flow channel plate 20 as an integral part, the production process can be greatly simplified, the processing time of machining through-holes and reinforcing structures can be reduced, and the production efficiency can be greatly improved.

[0042] Furthermore, in order to facilitate demoulding of the flow channel plate 20 after die-casting, a corresponding draft angle may be set on the flow channel plate 20 .

[0043] In one embodiment, the flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30 are bonded and fixed. It is understandable that the battery cell module in the battery pack is placed on the flat plate 30 to achieve heat transfer through the flat plate 30. Based on this, the present application can not only achieve a fixed connection between the flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30 by bonding the flat plate 30 to the flow channel plate 20, but also avoid the high energy consumption of the traditional brazing process and the adverse effects of brazing on the flatness of the flat plate 30, thereby reducing the processing cost, and ensuring the fit between the flat plate 30 and the battery cell module, which is conducive to improving the heat exchange effect of the flat plate 30.

[0044] Specifically, in this embodiment, Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, a glue groove 2102 is provided on the flow channel plate 20, and adhesive is placed in the glue groove 2102, so as to facilitate the use of the adhesive to bond the flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30. Among them, the adhesive is preferably foam glue. Since there is a certain gap between the flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30 due to tolerance or operation reasons, the foam glue can fill the gap after foaming, so as to achieve a better sealing effect and further reduce the probability of leakage of the coolant in the flow channel groove 2101. In addition, the foam glue can form a foam-like structure after foaming, which has good heat preservation, sound insulation, shock absorption and lightweight effects.

[0045] Furthermore, the flow channel groove 2101 usually has a plurality of spaced-apart branch channels, and the glue groove 2102 can be arranged around the flow channel groove 2101, or between adjacent branch channels, or in the flow channel groove 2101 to divide the flow channel groove 2101 to form a plurality of branch channels, thereby further improving the sealing of the flow channel groove 2101, so that the coolant can only flow along the predetermined flow channel, which is safer. Among them, the portion of the foam glue filled in the glue groove 2102 is preferably set to occupy 20% to 30% of the depth of the glue groove 2102, so as to provide space for the subsequent foaming of the foam glue and avoid squeezing the flat plate 30 and the flow channel plate 20 after foaming.

[0046] Exemplarily, the portion of the foam glue filled in the glue groove 2102 may account for 20%, 22%, 24%, 26%, 28% or 30% of the depth of the glue groove 2102, etc., which can be reasonably set according to actual needs.

[0047] In other embodiments, the bonding area between the flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30 may be set on the surface of the flow channel plate 20 where the flow channel groove 2101 is not provided. That is, the flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30 may be directly bonded at the joint using sealant or structural adhesive.

[0048] Further, in one embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, the cold plate mounting structure 100 further includes a fastener 40, which penetrates and connects the flat plate 30 and the flow channel plate 20. The cooperation of the fastener 40 and the adhesive can further improve the sealing of the flow channel groove 2101, thereby ensuring the safety of the battery pack.

[0049] Specifically, the fastener 40 can be an FDS self-tapping screw, and the fastener 40 is set at the position corresponding to the adhesive groove 2102 on the flat plate 30 and the flow channel plate 20, that is, the fastener 40 penetrates the flow channel plate 20 after penetrating the flat plate 30 and extending into the adhesive groove 2102, thereby achieving a fixed connection between the flow channel plate 20 and the flat plate 30. In addition, after the FDS self-tapping screw completes the fixation between the flat plate 30 and the flow channel plate 20, the foam glue can further fill the small gap formed between the FDS self-tapping screw and the flat plate 30 or the flow channel plate 20, further improving the sealing performance and ensuring the overall safety of the battery pack.

[0050] It should be noted that FDS self-tapping screws are connected by using the FDS process, in which the FDS process (FlowDrill Srew, hot melt self-tapping) is a process that uses the heat generated by the high-speed rotation of the screw to melt the parent material, and penetrate the parent material under axial pressure to make threads on the parent material, and finally fix two or more layers of sheet materials together. It can achieve single-sided connection without pre-drilling, has high connection strength, and can achieve a certain interference with the sheet after connection to enhance the sealing after connection.

[0051] Of course, in other embodiments, common screws, bolts or blind rivets may also be used for connection.

[0052] In one embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, the flat plate 30 is connected with a water inlet joint 50 and a water outlet joint 60, and both the water inlet joint 50 and the water outlet joint 60 are communicated with the flow channel groove 2101. In this way, the inflow and outflow of the coolant can be achieved.

[0053] The present application also provides a battery pack, which includes the cold plate mounting structure 100 described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0054] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0055] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the scope of patent protection of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A cold plate mounting structure, applied to a battery pack, characterized in that: The cold plate installation structure comprises a lower box (10), a flow channel plate (20) and a flat plate (30); the lower box (10) is provided with an assembly cavity (101) having an opening (102) at one end; the flow channel plate (20) and the flat plate (30) are sequentially installed in the assembly cavity (101) through the opening (102); The flow channel plate (20) comprises a main plate (21) and a flange (22) arranged on the periphery of the main plate (21); the bottom wall of the assembly cavity (101) away from the opening (102) is used to support the main plate (21); the flange (22) and the main plate (21) are arranged at an angle, and the flange (22) is attached to and connected to the side wall of the assembly cavity (101); The main board (21) is provided with a flow channel groove (2101), and the flat plate (30) is connected to the main board (21) to cover the notch of the flow channel groove (2101).

2. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the flange (22) is greater than or equal to 20 mm.

3. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: A reinforcing rib (221) is formed on the flange (22), and a reinforcing cavity (2201) is formed between the reinforcing rib (221) and the inner wall of the assembly cavity (101).

4. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: Along the height direction of the flange (22), the reinforcing rib (221) extends to both ends of the flange (22).

5. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The number of the reinforcing ribs (221) is plural, and the plural reinforcing ribs (221) are arranged at intervals on the flange (22) along the circumferential direction of the assembly cavity (101).

6. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main board (21) and the flange (22) are an integral die-cast structure.

7. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow channel plate (20) and the flat plate (30) are bonded and fixed.

8. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 7, characterized in that: The cold plate installation structure also includes a fastener (40), wherein the fastener (40) penetrates and connects the flat plate (30) and the flow channel plate (20).

9. The cold plate installation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flat plate (30) is connected to a water inlet joint (50) and a water outlet joint (60), and both the water inlet joint (50) and the water outlet joint (60) are in communication with the flow channel groove (2101).

10. A battery pack, characterized in that: It comprises the cold plate mounting structure as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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