Liquid cooling distribution box and battery pack

Abstract

The utility model provides a liquid cooling distribution box and a battery pack. The liquid cooling distribution box comprises an upper cold plate, a lower cold plate, side plates, fuses and contactors. The projection of the lower cold plate and the projection of the upper cold plate in the vertical direction coincide with each other and are arranged in parallel. The side plate is located between the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate, and an installation space is defined by the side plate, the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate. The fuse is arranged in the mounting space and is attached to the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate; the contactor is arranged in the installation space and is attached to the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate. The utility model further relates to a battery pack adopting the liquid cooling distribution box. The LED lamp has the advantages of being high in heat dissipation efficiency, small in occupied space and low in manufacturing cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of battery pack disconnection unit systems, in particular to a liquid-cooled power distribution box. The utility model also relates to a battery pack including the above liquid-cooled power distribution box. Background Technique

[0002] BDU (Battery Disconnect Unit) is an important part of the electric vehicle battery management system. It is mainly responsible for controlling and protecting the electrical connection between the battery pack and other high-voltage components of the vehicle to ensure electrical safety under normal and abnormal conditions. The functions of BUD include control of high-voltage circuits, overload protection, charge and discharge control, monitoring of cell states, etc.; its main structure is a power distribution box containing multiple relays, fuses inside, which can be used to control the current path of the battery pack and cut off the circuit when necessary, ensuring the stability and safety of the system.

[0003] Currently, common BUDs can be classified into BDU integrated inside the battery pack and BDU installed outside the battery pack. Due to being protected by the battery pack housing, the BDU integrated inside the battery pack has lower requirements for the waterproof and sealing level compared to the BDU installed outside the battery pack, and has more advantages in reducing manufacturing costs and improving production efficiency. However, the power distribution boxes used in this kind of BDU all adopt passive heat dissipation methods, and relieve the heat accumulation situation by increasing the size of the power distribution box. For the power distribution box cooled and heated in this way, the heat dissipation efficiency is very limited, and there are certain safety hazards. The increase in the size of the power distribution box will not only increase the manufacturing cost, but also occupy more space inside the battery pack, reducing the space utilization rate of the battery pack and affecting the energy density of the battery pack.

[0004] From the above background technique, it can be known that the heat dissipation efficiency of the BDU power distribution box installed inside the battery pack is poor, and there are defects of more space occupation and high manufacturing cost. Content of the Utility Model

[0005] In view of this, the utility model aims to propose a liquid-cooled power distribution box, which can have a high heat dissipation efficiency while maintaining a small outer shell size, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing space occupation and production costs.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the utility model is realized as follows:

[0007] A liquid-cooled power distribution box of the utility model, used for a battery pack disconnection unit system, includes:

[0008] An upper cold plate;

[0009] The lower cold plate is arranged parallel to and overlapping with the projection of the upper cold plate in the vertical direction;

[0010] The side plates are located between the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate, and together with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate, they enclose an installation space;

[0011] The fuse is arranged in the installation space and is in contact with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate;

[0012] The contactor is arranged in the installation space and is in contact with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate.

[0013] Further, the upper cold plate includes an upper plate body;

[0014] The upper water inlet pipe is communicated with the upper plate body;

[0015] The upper water outlet pipe is communicated with the upper plate body.

[0016] Further, the lower cold plate includes a lower plate body;

[0017] The lower water inlet pipe is communicated with the lower plate body;

[0018] The lower water outlet pipe is communicated with the lower plate body.

[0019] Further, the upper water inlet pipe is communicated with the lower water inlet pipe;

[0020] The upper water outlet pipe is communicated with the lower water outlet pipe.

[0021] Further, one side edge of the upper plate body extends outward to form an upper extension part, and the upper water inlet pipe and the upper water outlet pipe are communicated with the upper extension part;

[0022] One side edge of the lower plate body extends outward to form a lower extension part, and the lower water inlet pipe and the lower water outlet pipe are communicated with the lower extension part.

[0023] Further, the side plates are provided with limiting holes in the vertical direction; the limiting holes are configured to be four and are distributed at the four corner positions of the side plates, and extend along their own axis directions and penetrate through the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate.

[0024] Further, the side plates are provided with wiring holes in the horizontal direction, and the wiring holes are configured to be multiple and are in one-to-one correspondence with the positions of the fuse and the contactor.

[0025] Further, the two side surfaces with the largest surface areas of the fuse and the contactor are respectively in contact with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate.

[0026] Further, the contactor includes a main positive contactor;

[0027] The main negative contactor is arranged in pairs with the main positive contactor in a centrosymmetric manner. Compared with the prior art, the present utility model has the following advantages:

[0028] The liquid-cooled distribution box of the present utility model includes an upper cold plate, a lower cold plate, side plate fuses, and contactors. By using the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate as part of the outer shell of the distribution box, the outer shell of the distribution box can actively dissipate heat to reduce the temperature inside the distribution box. Compared with the passive heat dissipation method in the prior art that increases the outer shell size to improve the heat dissipation efficiency, the present application can have a high heat dissipation efficiency without increasing the size of the outer shell of the distribution box, thereby achieving the invention purpose of reducing space occupation and production costs. In addition, by arranging side plates between the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate, the positions of the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate can be fixed and limited. By arranging fuses and contactors with large heat dissipation amounts in the installation space, active heat dissipation and temperature reduction can be carried out simultaneously from the upper and lower directions, which can better improve the situation of heat accumulation and temperature rise of components with large heat generation amounts.

[0029] In addition, by arranging an upper water inlet pipe and an upper water outlet pipe on the upper plate body, the coolant can enter the upper plate body from the upper water inlet pipe, flow along the flow channel cavity and exchange heat with the inside of the distribution box, so that the temperature inside the distribution box can drop. Finally, the coolant flows out from the upper water outlet pipe and returns to the liquid cooling system.

[0030] By arranging a lower water inlet pipe and a lower water outlet pipe on the lower plate body, the coolant can enter the lower plate body from the lower water inlet pipe, flow along the flow channel cavity and exchange heat with the inside of the distribution box, so that the temperature inside the distribution box can drop. Finally, the coolant flows out from the lower water outlet pipe and returns to the liquid cooling system.

[0031] By connecting the upper water inlet pipe with the lower water inlet pipe and connecting the upper water outlet pipe with the lower water outlet pipe, the channels for the coolant to enter the upper cold plate or the lower cold plate can be integrated at one interface, and the channels for the coolant to return to the liquid cooling system from the upper cold plate or the lower cold plate can be integrated at another interface, thereby achieving the invention purpose of reducing the number of interfaces and reducing production and assembly costs.

[0032] Secondly, through the arrangement of the upper extension part and the lower extension part, it provides limits for the installation of the upper water inlet pipe, the upper water outlet pipe, the lower water inlet pipe, and the lower water outlet pipe, and enables the connection structure between them and the upper cold plate or the lower cold plate to be integrated in the area between the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate, thereby reducing the space occupation in the vertical direction and achieving the invention purpose of reducing the size of the outer shell of the distribution box in the vertical direction.

[0033] Furthermore, through the arrangement of the limiting holes, it is convenient to fix the present application at a specific position of the battery pack. By providing wiring holes on the side plates, the wiring operations of the fuse and the contactor can be facilitated. By bringing the two side surfaces with the largest surface areas of the fuse and the contactor into contact with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate, the contact areas between the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate and between the fuse and the contactor can be effectively increased, thereby further improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the present application. By arranging the main positive contactor and the main negative contactor in a centrosymmetric manner, it is beneficial to reduce the risk of electric shock caused by the closing of the contacts between the main positive contactor and the main negative contactor when the entire pack is impacted, resulting in the high-voltage conduction of the entire pack circuit.

[0034] In addition, the present utility model also proposes a battery pack provided with the above-mentioned liquid-cooled distribution box.

[0035] The battery pack described in the present utility model has the same beneficial effects as the above-mentioned liquid-cooled distribution box compared with the prior art, and will not be elaborated herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The drawings constituting a part of the present utility model are used to provide a further understanding of the present utility model. The schematic embodiments and descriptions thereof of the present utility model are used to explain the present utility model and do not constitute an improper limitation to the present utility model. In the drawings:

[0037] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the liquid-cooled distribution box in the embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 2 is an exploded structural diagram of the liquid-cooled distribution box in the embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 3 is a schematic distribution structural diagram of the fuse and the contactor in the embodiment of the present application.

[0040] Description of the reference numerals:

[0041] 1, upper cold plate;

[0042] 101, upper plate body; 1011, upper extension part; 102, upper water inlet pipe; 103, upper water outlet pipe;

[0043] 2, lower cold plate;

[0044] 201, lower plate body; 2011, lower extension part; 202, lower water inlet pipe; 203, lower water outlet pipe;

[0045] 3, side plate;

[0046] 301, limiting hole; 302, wiring hole;

[0047] 4, fuse;

[0048] 5, contactor;

[0049] 501, Main positive contactor; 502, Main negative contactor. Specific implementation manner

[0050] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the present utility model and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the specific implementation manners of the present utility model will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present utility model. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings, and other implementation manners can also be obtained.

[0051] In the description of the present utility model, it should be noted that if terms indicating orientation or positional relationship such as "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", etc. appear, they are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present utility model and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the present utility model. In addition, if terms such as "first", "second", etc. appear, they are also only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0052] Taking a liquid-cooled power distribution box and battery pack described in the present utility model as an example, the orientation terms such as "upper, lower, left, right, front, rear" used in the embodiments are defined based on the up-down direction (also known as the height direction, or the Z direction of the battery pack), left-right direction (also known as the width direction, or the Y direction of the battery pack), and front-back direction (also known as the length direction, or the X direction of the battery pack) of the battery pack. "Inner" and "outer" are defined based on the contour of the corresponding component. For example, "inner" and "outer" defined based on the contour of the battery pack, the side closer to the middle of the battery pack is "inner", and vice versa is "outer".

[0053] In addition, in the description of the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly defined, the terms "installation", "connection", "connection", "connector" 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 or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood in combination with specific situations.

[0054] The following will refer to the attached Figure 1 to the attached Figure 3 and in combination with the embodiments to detail the present utility model.

[0055] Embodiment 1

[0056] This embodiment relates to a liquid-cooled power distribution box, which uses a cold plate as a part of the main body of the power distribution box housing, and replaces the passive heat dissipation method used in the existing BDU power distribution box with an active heat dissipation method to achieve the invention purpose of improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the BDU power distribution box. In addition, due to the improvement of the heat dissipation method, it is no longer necessary to increase the size of the power distribution box housing to improve the heat dissipation efficiency. Therefore, the size of the power distribution box of this application is effectively reduced, the production cost for the power distribution box housing is controlled and compressed, the space occupied in the battery pack is reduced, and the overall space utilization rate and energy density of the battery pack using this BDU power distribution box are improved.

[0057] In terms of the overall structure, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the liquid-cooled power distribution box of this embodiment includes an upper cold plate 1, a lower cold plate 2, side plates 3, fuses 4, and contactors 5. Among them, the projections of the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2 in the vertical direction overlap each other. The upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2 are of the same size and are arranged parallel to each other with respect to the horizontal plane. The projections of the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2 on the horizontal plane overlap each other. The side plates 3 are fixedly installed between the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2. Due to the connection of the side plates 3, the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2 enclose a hollow installation space with the sides. The fuses 4 and the contactors 5 are both installed in the installation space.

[0058] With the above settings, by using the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2 as part of the power distribution box housing, the power distribution box housing can reduce the temperature inside the power distribution box in an active heat dissipation manner. Compared with the passive heat dissipation method in the prior art that improves the heat dissipation efficiency by increasing the size of the housing, this application can have a high heat dissipation efficiency without increasing the size of the power distribution box housing, thereby achieving the invention purposes of reducing space occupation and lowering production costs. In addition, by arranging the side plates 3 between the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2, the positions of the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2 can be fixed and limited. By arranging the fuses 4 and the contactors 5 with large heat dissipation amounts in the installation space, active heat dissipation and cooling can be carried out on them simultaneously from the upper and lower directions, which can better improve the situation of heat accumulation and temperature rise of components with large heat generation.

[0059] Based on the above design concept, specifically, in this embodiment, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2, in order to enable the upper cold plate 1 to reduce the temperature inside the distribution box in an active heat dissipation manner, in this embodiment, the upper cold plate 1 includes an upper plate body 101, an upper water inlet pipe 102 and an upper water outlet pipe 103. Among them, the upper plate body 101 can be a rectangular aluminum alloy plate. A flow channel cavity is provided inside the upper plate body 101. The upper water inlet pipe 102 and the upper water outlet pipe 103 are respectively communicated with the water inlet and the water outlet of the flow channel cavity of the upper plate body 101. By providing the upper water inlet pipe 102 and the upper water outlet pipe 103 on the upper plate body 101, the coolant can enter the upper plate body 101 from the upper water inlet pipe 102, flow along the flow channel cavity and exchange heat with the inside of the distribution box, so that the temperature inside the distribution box can drop. Finally, the coolant flows out from the upper water outlet pipe 103 and returns to the liquid cooling system.

[0060] Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , in order to enable the lower cold plate 2 to reduce the temperature inside the distribution box in an active heat dissipation manner, in this embodiment, the lower cold plate 2 includes a lower plate body 201, a lower water inlet pipe 202 and a lower water outlet pipe 203. Among them, the lower plate body 201 can be a rectangular aluminum alloy plate. A flow channel cavity is provided inside the lower plate body 201. The lower water inlet pipe 202 and the lower water outlet pipe 203 are respectively communicated with the water inlet and the water outlet of the flow channel cavity of the lower plate body 201. By providing the lower water inlet pipe 202 and the lower water outlet pipe 203 on the lower plate body 201, the coolant can enter the lower plate body 201 from the lower water inlet pipe 202, flow along the flow channel cavity and exchange heat with the inside of the distribution box, so that the temperature inside the distribution box can drop. Finally, the coolant flows out from the lower water outlet pipe 203 and returns to the liquid cooling system.

[0061] Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , for the purpose of reducing the number of interfaces and lowering the production and assembly costs, in this embodiment, the upper water inlet pipe 102 is communicated with the lower water inlet pipe 202, and the upper water outlet pipe 103 is communicated with the lower water outlet pipe 203. By communicating the upper water inlet pipe 102 with the lower water inlet pipe 202 and communicating the upper water outlet pipe 103 with the lower water outlet pipe 203, the channels for the coolant to enter the upper cold plate 1 or the lower cold plate 2 can be integrated at one interface, and the channels for the coolant to return from the upper cold plate 1 or the lower cold plate 2 to the liquid cooling system can be integrated at another interface, thus achieving the invention purpose of reducing the number of interfaces and lowering the production and assembly costs.

[0062] Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2, in order to reduce the size of the distribution box housing in the vertical direction and further reduce the size occupied by the distribution box in the battery pack, in this embodiment, one side edge of the upper plate body 101 extends outward to form an upper extension part 1011. The upper water inlet pipe 102 and the upper water outlet pipe 103 are both connected to the lower surface of the upper extension part 1011. One side edge of the lower plate body 201 extends outward to form a lower extension part 2011. The lower water inlet pipe 202 and the lower water outlet pipe 203 are both connected to the upper surface of the lower extension part 2011. Through the settings of the upper extension part 1011 and the lower extension part 2011, it provides limits for the installation of the upper water inlet pipe 102, the upper water outlet pipe 103, the lower water inlet pipe 202, and the lower water outlet pipe 203, and enables the connection structure between them and the upper cold plate 1 or the lower cold plate 2 to be integrated in the area between the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2, thereby reducing the space occupied in the vertical direction and achieving the invention purpose of reducing the size of the distribution box housing in the vertical direction.

[0063] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , in order to facilitate the installation and positioning of this application, limit holes 301 are provided along the vertical direction on the side plate 3. The limit holes 301 can be circular through holes. The limit holes 301 are configured to be four distributed at the four corners of the side plate 3. The limit holes 301 extend in the upper and lower directions and penetrate through the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2. Through the setting of the limit holes 301, it can facilitate the fixation of this application at a specific position of the battery pack.

[0064] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , in order to facilitate the wiring operation, wiring holes 302 are provided on the side surface of the side plate 3 in this application. The wiring holes 302 can be rectangular through holes communicating the installation space with the outside. The wiring holes 302 are configured to be multiple corresponding to the fuse 4 and the contactor 5 one by one. By providing the wiring holes 302 on the side plate 3, it can facilitate the wiring operation of the fuse 4 and the contactor 5.

[0065] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2, in order to further improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the present application and alleviate the situation of temperature rise caused by heat accumulation during the operation of high-heat-generating components, in this embodiment, the two sides with the largest surface areas of the fuse 4 and the contactor 5 are respectively in contact with the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2, and are arranged horizontally in the installation space. By bringing the two sides with the largest surface areas of the fuse 4 and the contactor 5 into contact with the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2, the contact area between the upper cold plate 1 and the lower cold plate 2 and the fuse 4 and the contactor 5 can be effectively increased, thereby further improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the present application. In order to reduce the use of standard bolts in the distribution box, a thermal conductive structural adhesive is applied to the contact surfaces of the fuse 4 and the contactor 5 with the upper cold plate 1 or the lower cold plate 2. The thermal conductive structural adhesive can fix the positions of the fuse 4 and the contactor 5 without significantly affecting the heat dissipation efficiency. Since the use of standard bolts is reduced, the internal structure of the distribution box is more concise and the space utilization rate is higher.

[0066] Referring to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the contactor 5 in the present application includes a main positive contactor 501 and a main negative contactor 502. The main positive contactor 501 and the main negative contactor 502 are arranged in pairs, and the main positive contactor 501 and the main negative contactor 502 are arranged in a centrosymmetric manner, so that the interfaces of the main positive contactor 501 and the main negative contactor 502 face different directions. By arranging the main positive contactor 501 and the main negative contactor 502 in a centrosymmetric manner, it is beneficial to reduce the risk of electric shock caused by the closing of the contacts between the main positive contactor 501 and the main negative contactor 502 and the subsequent high-voltage conduction of the entire package circuit when the entire package is impacted.

[0067] Embodiment 2

[0068] This embodiment relates to a battery pack, including the liquid-cooled distribution box as in Embodiment 1.

[0069] In this embodiment, through the setting of the liquid-cooled distribution box, the passive heat dissipation method of increasing the shell size to improve the heat dissipation efficiency in the prior art is replaced by the active liquid-cooling temperature reduction method, so that the size of the distribution box shell is controlled, the space occupied in the battery pack is reduced, and at the same time, it has a high heat dissipation efficiency.

[0070] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention can be modified or equivalently replaced without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and they should all be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A liquid-cooled distribution box for a battery pack circuit breaker unit system, characterized in that: Including upper cold plate; The lower cold plate is overlapped with the projection of the upper cold plate in the vertical direction and is arranged in parallel; A side plate, located between the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate, and forming an installation space with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate; A fuse is arranged in the installation space and is attached to the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate; The contactor is arranged in the installation space and is fitted with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate.

2. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper cold plate comprises an upper plate body; An upper water inlet pipe connected to the upper plate body; The upper water outlet pipe is communicated with the upper plate body.

3. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to claim 2, characterized in that: The lower cold plate includes a lower plate body; A lower water inlet pipe connected to the lower plate body; The lower water outlet pipe is communicated with the lower plate body.

4. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to claim 3, characterized in that: The upper water inlet pipe is connected to the lower water inlet pipe; The upper water outlet pipe is communicated with the lower water outlet pipe.

5. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to claim 3, characterized in that: One side edge of the upper plate body extends outward to form an upper extension portion, and the upper water inlet pipe and the upper water outlet pipe are connected to the upper extension portion; One side edge of the lower plate body extends outward to form a lower extension portion, and the lower water inlet pipe and the lower water outlet pipe are connected to the lower extension portion.

6. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The side plate is provided with limiting holes in the vertical direction; the limiting holes are structured to be four holes distributed at the four corners of the side plate, and extend along the axis direction thereof and penetrate the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate.

7. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to claim 6, characterized in that: The side plate is provided with wiring holes in a horizontal direction, and the wiring holes are configured to be a plurality of holes corresponding to the positions of the fuses and the contactors.

8. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to claim 6, characterized in that: The two sides of the fuse and the contactor having the largest surface areas are in contact with the upper cold plate and the lower cold plate respectively.

9. The liquid-cooled power distribution box according to claim 6, characterized in that: The contactor comprises a main positive contactor; The main negative contactor is arranged in pairs with the main positive contactor in a centrally symmetrical manner.

10. A battery pack, characterized in that: Comprising a liquid-cooled distribution box as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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