Thermally decoupled high-voltage battery storage arrangement

Abstract

The invention relates to a battery arrangement for a battery-electric vehicle, comprising a cell space (1) for receiving one or more battery cells, a cell frame (3) surrounding the cell space (1), and a battery housing (5) with elements for connecting to a further vehicle structure (7), wherein the cell frame (3) has a layer of voluminous material (9) with individual air chambers, wherein the cell frame (3) and the battery housing (5) are mechanically connected to each other, and wherein the cell space (1) is bounded on its side facing the ground in the state of the battery arrangement being mounted on the vehicle by a housing cover (11).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a battery arrangement for a battery-electric vehicle.

[0002] Housings for high-voltage batteries (HV batteries for short) are often made of aluminum components for weight reasons. Aluminum has good thermal conductivity, which can be particularly advantageous for cooling the battery. However, in housing components that form the cell construction space and do not have a thermal function such as active cooling, this property also leads to the cell construction space cooling down quickly at low outside temperatures and heating up at high temperatures. In the event of undesirable heating, these thermal influences from the environment must be compensated for with energy-intensive cell cooling. Furthermore, when driving at high speeds, the not insignificant wind influences occur, which can cool the battery to undesirably low temperatures, particularly at low temperatures.Adjusting to operating temperature requires additional energy and leads to increased energy consumption, which reduces the remaining range of an electric vehicle. State-of-the-art methods for avoiding thermal losses are known: DE 4309621 A1 relates to a vehicle with an electric drive and a high-temperature battery serving to supply the latter with energy, which has a thermally insulating housing to avoid thermal losses and a cooling system to limit the operating temperature during charging and power consumption, wherein the waste heat of the cooling system can be used to heat the vehicle, wherein the vehicle can be preheated when the battery is charged and the heating of the vehicle already achieved by the preheating is essentially only maintained during driving.

[0003] DE 10 2011 052 513 A1 also relates to a battery housing part for accommodating a traction battery of an electric vehicle, wherein the battery housing part has at least one wall which consists at least partially of a thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic material, and wherein the wall has at least one cavity which is provided within the wall.

[0004] The object of the invention is to make it easier to set a desired thermal state of a battery of a battery-electric vehicle.

[0005] The invention is based on the features of the independent claims. Advantageous developments and refinements are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0006] A first aspect of the invention relates to a battery arrangement for a battery-electric vehicle, comprising a cell space for accommodating one or more battery cells, a cell frame surrounding the cell space, and a battery housing with elements for connection to a further vehicle structure, wherein the cell frame has a layer of voluminous material with individual air chambers, wherein the cell frame and the battery housing are mechanically connected to one another, and wherein the cell space is delimited by a housing cover on its side facing the ground when the battery arrangement is mounted on the vehicle.

[0007] The interplay of the thermally insulating components, particularly the cell frame's construction of a layer of voluminous material with individual insulating air chambers, as well as additional insulating layers and air-filled volumes, results in better thermal insulation of the individual battery cells within the cell compartment from the vehicle's environment. For example, if the ground radiates intense heat on hot summer days, this radiation is shielded by the housing cover and prevented from heating the battery cells. This saves cooling power. In particular, the honeycomb or foam material of the cell frame prevents convective heat transfer caused by passing air from the wind.

[0008] This thermally optimized arrangement of the HV battery on the vehicle and the use of thermally insulating materials enclosing the cell space, or air chambers, reduce the thermal power required to operate the HV battery at its optimal temperature operating point. Thus, the cell space, including any cooling system installed there (e.g., via cooling channels), is insulated from thermal ambient influences, and the cooling capacity can be reduced accordingly. This reduces the thermal influence of outside temperatures. For example, heat is stored within the battery longer; this means it needs to be heated less at temperatures that are too low.

[0009] According to an advantageous embodiment, the layer of voluminous material has a honeycomb structure. Preferably, the layer of voluminous material consists of a honeycomb structure. Furthermore, the structure is preferably made of plastic.

[0010] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the layer of voluminous material comprises open-porous foam. Preferably, the layer of voluminous material consists of open-porous foam. Furthermore, the open-porous foam is preferably made of plastic.

[0011] According to a further advantageous embodiment, in a state of the battery arrangement mounted on the vehicle, the cell space has a thermal insulation layer on its side facing the vehicle interior.

[0012] According to a further advantageous embodiment, a surface cooling device is arranged between the insulation layer and the cell space.

[0013] In this version of the HV battery with a surface cooling device, the cooling system is located beneath the vehicle floor. This allows the cooling circuit to be decoupled from the influence of cooling during driving or heat radiation from the road.

[0014] According to a further advantageous embodiment, cooling channels for conducting cooling fluid are arranged between the battery cells.

[0015] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the housing cover forms an air chamber between the housing cover and the cell space.

[0016] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the housing cover is made of an insulating material, e.g., plastic. In an alternative design of the housing cover made of aluminum, an additional insulating layer (e.g., porous foam structures) is incorporated into the interior to shield the interior from heat radiation from the street / ground.

[0017] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the cell frame and the battery housing are thermally insulated from each other by an additional frame insulation.

[0018] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the frame insulation between the cell frame and the battery housing is formed by adhesive.

[0019] A further aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle having a battery arrangement as described above and below.

[0020] Advantages and preferred developments of the proposed vehicle result from an analogous and analogous transfer of the statements made above in connection with the proposed battery arrangement.

[0021] Further advantages, features, and details will become apparent from the following description, which—if appropriate, with reference to the drawings—describes at least one embodiment in detail. Identical, similar, and / or functionally equivalent parts are provided with the same reference numerals.

[0022] They show: Fig. 1: A battery arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2: A battery arrangement according to another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3: A detailed section of the connection of a battery housing to a cell frame according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4: A detailed section of the connection of a battery housing to a cell frame according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0023] The representations in the figures are schematic and not to scale.

[0024] Fig. 1 shows an exemplary battery arrangement for a battery-electric vehicle. The battery arrangement is intended to be arranged beneath a vehicle structure 7, i.e. beneath an underbody that defines an interior of the vehicle. A cell compartment 1 forms a volume for accommodating individual cylindrical battery cells. The cell compartment 1 is laterally surrounded by a cell frame 3. The cell frame 3, in turn, is mechanically connected to a battery housing 5, which is connected to the vehicle structure 7. The cell frame 3 is itself formed from voluminous material 9 in order to have thermally insulating properties. The battery housing 5 has a mechanical connection to the further vehicle structure 7. On the underside, i.e. on the side of the cell compartment 1 facing the ground, a housing cover 11 is arranged, which forms an air chamber 19.The air chamber 19 has special thermally insulating properties; for this purpose, the housing cover 11 is also made of a material with good thermal insulation. The air chamber 19 is also designed this way for assembly reasons. If the housing cover 11 is made of aluminum, an insulating material, e.g. porous foam, is introduced on the inside to shield the heat radiation emanating from the floor into the cell space, so as to prevent the temperature in the cell space 1 from being unnecessarily increased by the heat radiation from the floor through absorption of the heat radiation. Furthermore, with this arrangement, only significantly reduced cooling effects due to airflow occur. A surface cooling device 15 is oriented towards the vehicle interior. This is thermally separated from the surface cooling device 15 by an insulation layer 13.The temperature prevailing in the battery housing 5 can thus be maintained for a longer period without external supply of energy (in particular cooling), and thus cooling capacity can be reduced.

[0025] Fig. 2 shows another exemplary battery arrangement for a battery-electric vehicle. Analogous to Fig. 1 shows a sectional view from a side view, where in the Fig. 2 the floor is shown at the bottom, while at the top of the image the further vehicle structure 7 is shown in the area of ​​the underbody of a vehicle interior. In contrast to the battery arrangement of the Fig. 1, however, the voluminous material 9 is supplemented by a frame insulation 21, which creates a connection between the cell frame 3 and the battery housing 5. The frame insulation 21 is made of adhesive. In further contrast to the battery arrangement of Fig. 1, no surface cooling device 15 is provided, but only the insulation layer 13 on the upper side of the cell space 1, but instead cooling channels 17 which provide inter-cell cooling.

[0026] Fig. Figure 3 shows a detailed cross-sectional view of the arrangement from the cell compartment 1 to the battery housing 5. Here, the cell frame 3 is formed entirely from the voluminous material 9, which has a honeycomb structure. A frame insulation 21 made of adhesive is provided between the honeycomb structure of the cell frame 3 and the battery housing 5. The material 9 is made of plastic.

[0027] Fig.4 shows an alternative connection of the cell space 1 to the battery housing 5: Here, the cell frame 3 is connected directly to the battery housing 5, and the cell frame 3 has open-porous foam as a voluminous material 9, which, like the honeycomb structure, has good thermal insulating properties.

[0028] Although the invention has been illustrated and explained in detail by preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and other variations may be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. It is therefore clear that a multitude of variations exist. It is also clear that exemplary embodiments are truly only examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope, possible applications, or configuration of the invention in any way.Rather, the preceding description and the description of the figures enable the person skilled in the art to implement the exemplary embodiments in concrete terms, whereby the person skilled in the art, with knowledge of the disclosed inventive concept, can make various changes, for example with regard to the function or the arrangement of individual elements mentioned in an exemplary embodiment, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description. List of reference symbols 1 cell space 3 cell frames 5 Battery housing 7 additional vehicle structure 9 voluminous material with individual air chambers 11 Housing cover 13 Insulation layer 15 Surface cooling device 17 cooling channels 19 air chamber 21 Frame insulation QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 4309621 A1

[0002] DE 10 2011 052 513 A1

[0003]

Claims

[1] Battery arrangement for a battery-electric vehicle, comprising a cell space (1) for accommodating one or more battery cells, a cell frame (3) surrounding the cell space (1), and a battery housing (5) with elements for connection to a further vehicle structure (7), wherein the cell frame (3) has a layer of voluminous material (9) with individual air chambers, wherein the cell frame (3) and the battery housing (5) are mechanically connected to one another, and wherein the cell space (1) is delimited by a housing cover (11) on its side facing the ground when the battery arrangement is mounted on the vehicle. [2] Battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein the layer of voluminous material (9) has a honeycomb structure. [3] Battery arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the layer of voluminous material (9) comprises open-porous foam. [4] Battery arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cell space (1), in a state of the battery arrangement mounted on the vehicle, has an insulating layer (13) on its side facing the vehicle interior. [5] Battery arrangement according to claim 4, wherein a surface cooling device (15) is arranged between the insulation layer (13) and the cell space (1). [6] Battery arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, wherein cooling channels (17) for conducting cooling fluid are arranged between the battery cells. [7] Battery arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing cover (11) forms an air chamber (19) between the housing cover (11) and the cell space (1). [8] Battery arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing cover (11) is made of an insulating material, e.g. plastic. [9] Battery arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the housing cover (11) is made of aluminum material and an insulating layer is arranged on the inside in order to shield the heat radiation of the street from the interior of the battery. [10] Battery arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cell frame (3) and the battery housing (5) are thermally insulated from one another by an additional frame insulation (21). [11] Battery assembly according to claim 10, wherein the frame insulation (21) between the cell frame (3) and the battery case (5) is formed by adhesive.

Images