Pluggable connector body for high voltage battery cooler

Abstract

The invention relates to a connector body for a cooler of a high-voltage battery, the connector body comprising a coolant guideway extending between an inlet and an outlet and a connection part port for connecting a heat exchanger of the cooler to the coolant guideway, characterized in that the inlet and outlet ports have matching connection contours. The invention further relates to a cooling element and a cooler for a high-voltage battery.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector body for a cooler of a high-voltage battery, to a cooler element comprising such a connector body and to a cooler comprising at least one such cooler element. [Background technology]

[0002] The invention is described here for application in an inter-cell cooler for battery cells in a high voltage battery comprising a number of circular cells arranged in rows with cooler elements interposed between the rows, although the invention can of course also be used independently of this set of applications, since the invention is essentially concerned with connecting the individual cooler elements to a system responsible for the management of the coolant.

[0003] In inter-cell coolers it is known to use a common rail to supply the cooling fins (heat sinks) required, which is fabricated by directly inserting (insertion method) separately formed and alternating connector bodies and tubular members having male connection contours on both sides.

[0004] This "drop-in approach" requires significant assembly space axially, especially with respect to the longitudinal axis along which the common rail extends. Furthermore, the additional tubing adds additional costs and increases the number of seals due to the additional separations and parts, which makes the assembly more susceptible to misassembly and leaks. Furthermore, the drop-in approach does not allow for easy removal for later rework if a leak is found during post-assembly leak testing. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Against this background, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved cooler for a high-voltage battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Each independent claim defines by its characteristic features the subject matter which solves this problem. The dependent claims relate to advantageous developments of the invention.

[0007] According to one aspect, a connector body for a cooler, in particular an inter-cell cooler, of a high voltage battery, in particular comprising a number of energy storage cells arranged in at least two rows and in particular arranged in a motor vehicle, is disclosed, the connector body comprising at least: (a) A coolant manifold having a coolant guide passage extending between a coolant inlet and outlet passage ports. (b) A connection port for connecting a heat exchanger (particularly a cooling path) of a cooler to a coolant guide path, particularly for the input and output of a coolant, the connection port being arranged in the coolant guide path between an inlet path connection port and an outlet path connection port.

[0008] The inlet and outlet connections here are in particular provided with matching connection contours.

[0009] This allows identically constructed connector bodies to be plugged into one another, so that the coolant guide channels between adjacent connector bodies can be realized in a coolant-tight manner (without leakage of coolant) when the plugged-in inlet and outlet connections are properly sealed, without the need for connecting parts, e.g. tubular members, which are required for known connector bodies in known plugging methods.

[0010] A typical intercell cooler requires a large number of cooler elements and associated connector bodies, which number corresponds to at least about half the number of cell rows if each cell row is cooled on one side, as in known intercell coolers. Thus, the present invention eliminates many of the connection parts that are assembled together (and therefore complicated), thereby allowing for easier and less error-prone assembly.

[0011] Furthermore, a more compact construction and / or arrangement of adjacent connector bodies is possible, firstly because only one of the inlet and outlet connection ports is formed to protrude, and secondly because a separate connection member is omitted.

[0012] This allows the construction of inter-cell coolers with two-sided cooling, in which the coolers are provided at least partially between all cell rows, in a configuration having one heat exchanger each and associated connector body (especially in the case of commonly used circular cell high-voltage batteries, e.g. 18650 cell types).

[0013] By matching connection port contours is meant in particular here that one of the two connection ports has a connection port contour as its inner contour and the other of the two connection ports has a connection port contour as its outer contour. Here, when adjacent connector bodies are identically formed according to the invention, it is possible for the two matching connection port contours to differ from one another, insofar as the difference in the two connection port contours does not impair the sealing effect of the connection of the two connection ports to the coolant manifold by the two cooperating connector bodies. Difference here means in particular a tolerance deviation and / or a dimension that allows them to be plugged into one another without impairing the sealing effect. However, a further difference can also mean, for example, that between the matching connection port contours according to the invention a recess remains after plugging into one another.

[0014] According to one embodiment, one of the inlet passage connection port and the outlet passage connection port is formed as a male plug body, and the other of the inlet passage connection port and the outlet passage connection port is formed as a female plug body.

[0015] According to one embodiment, a sufficient sealing effect is ensured by a peripheral seal at one or both connection ports, in particular one or more sealing rings, or the material of the connector bodies may be selected appropriately so that when properly installed, a reliable, all-around tight contact is achieved between the two connector bodies with particularly suitable elasticity.

[0016] According to a further aspect, a cooler element for a cooler, in particular an inter-cell cooler, of a high-voltage battery, in particular in a motor vehicle, is disclosed, comprising at least one connector body according to an embodiment of the invention and a heat exchanger having a cooling path arranged via a cooling path connection port at a connection port of a coolant guide path of the connector body.

[0017] According to a further aspect, an inter-cell cooler, in particular for a high voltage battery in an automotive vehicle, is disclosed, comprising at least two cooler elements according to an embodiment of the invention, in which one or more inlet connection ports of an adjacent cooling element are connected to one or more outlet connection ports of the cooling element in order to guide a coolant, in particular the cooler elements being at least one of plugged and / or tightly joined (e.g. by soldering or welding) to the coolant (so that the coolant does not leak).

[0018] In particular, the intercell cooler comprises a number of cooler elements, for example one for every intermediate space between two rows of cells of a high-voltage battery, which are arranged next to one another along the longitudinal axis and which form a coolant guideway along the interleaved coolant manifolds, in particular forming a common rail for the coolant supplied to or discharged from the individual heat exchangers (optionally separately, if the connector body is provided with a respective number of (in particular two) coolant manifolds (for example for coolant inlet and outlet)).

[0019] The heat exchangers are each formed, for example, as cooling plates or corrugated cooling fins (heat sinks) and / or are each formed to be arranged between two rows of cells of a high-voltage battery, for example, the heat exchangers can each be at least partially molded to and / or against the cell periphery of the battery cells between which they are arranged.

[0020] The connector body may in particular be made of a plastic or metal material (such as an aluminum alloy), which is suitable for ensuring the delivery of the coolant used, for example cooling water or cooling oil, in the expected temperature range. In particular, the connector body is manufactured by a plastic injection molding process or an aluminum die casting process. In particular, surrounding the male connection contour, radially outwardly, at least one peripheral seal (in particular configured as an O-ring), for example made of a suitable rubber, silicone or polymer material, is provided in each case.

[0021] Particularly suitable heat exchangers are hollow profiles, in particular made of aluminum alloys, which are suitable for reliable guidance of the coolant used, for example cooling water or cooling oil, and which are produced, for example, by extrusion and / or are sprayed with an electrically insulating layer, for example made of a dielectric polymer material.

[0022] If the heat exchanger and the connector body are each made of a metallic material, for example an aluminum alloy, the connection can be soldered or welded in a tight seal to the coolant. If one of the heat exchanger and the connector body is made of a plastic and the other is made of a metallic material, or if both are made of plastic, the connection can be glued in a tight seal to the coolant.

[0023] The invention is based, inter alia, on the idea of ​​constructing the connector bodies in such a way that they can be stacked one on top of the other and plugged in place, no further connecting elements, in particular separate connecting elements, are required, and in particular a common rail is integrated into the connector bodies of the individual heat exchangers.

[0024] If both the cold coolant supply common rail and the hot coolant discharge common rail are provided by stacked connector bodies, each of the pluggable connector bodies has two male connector tubes with a radially outer port contour and two female connectors with a correspondingly shaped radially inner port contour. The male connector tube of the first connector body enters the female connector of the next connector body to form the hot and cold common rails. Between the male and female connectors are arranged connection ports for heat exchangers, which are in particular formed as cooling plates and / or cooling fins.

[0025] The sealing between the male and female connectors is ensured by, for example, an O-ring.

[0026] In order to keep the tolerances between both (feed and return) port profiles small, in one embodiment both port profiles are made from one piece, with appropriate tolerance compensation measures being taken, in an alternative embodiment a multi-part approach could be used.

[0027] In order to allow a good distribution of the coolant through the common rail, according to one embodiment the flow cross section of the common rail is made significantly larger than that of the individual heat exchangers.

[0028] According to one development of the invention, the problem of subsequent reworking and repairs is eliminated by providing an additional groove in the male connecting tube and a side hole in the female connector in the same axial position (in the assembled state). In the event of a malfunction, for example if an O-ring is damaged, a sealant can be introduced into the groove through the side hole to ensure sealing. Such a subsequent operation is possible not only with a groove in the male connecting tube, but also with the side hole, if the normally conformal connection port contours differ from one another in the axial part of the side hole, leaving a circumferential recess when assembled, which can be filled with a sealing substance.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the connector body has a first side wall, from which one of the inlet and outlet connection ports extends away from the connection port, and a second side wall, from which the other of the inlet and outlet connection ports extends towards the connection port, and according to one embodiment, both side walls are formed in such a way that when plugged into one another, i.e. assembled, the identically formed connector bodies according to the invention abut against one another, whereby the connector bodies, and thus also the cooling elements, can be stacked as densely as possible in the longitudinal direction.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the first and second side walls are formed in such a way that when two connector bodies, in particular identical connector bodies according to the invention, are plugged into one another, they together form a locking portion at and / or from which a seal is reliably formed, in particular by the plugging of the inlet and outlet connections into one another. This facilitates a simple visual, audible and / or tactile check of correct assembly. Furthermore, the axially tight stacking of the connector bodies, and therefore also the cooler elements, is further optimized.

[0031] According to one embodiment, the conformal connection contours are formed in such a way that when the connection is made, a circumferential cavity, in particular a recess and / or a groove, remains between the two connection contours, which cavity can be filled with a sealing substance in case of a negative leak test, so that the connection can be sealed subsequently and reliably, without dismantling the already assembled cooler element.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the connection port, which is designed to receive it, in particular as a female plug body, has a cutout extending from its outer surface to a portion of the connection port contour, at which a circumferential cavity is formed during connection, so that it is easy to fill the cavity, if necessary - even in the assembled state of the cooler element - with a sealing material, in particular a flowable and / or hardenable material.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the connector body comprises two separate coolant manifolds, one of which is configured as a coolant inlet (low temperature side) and the other as a coolant outlet (high temperature side), so that only one connector body is required for each heat exchanger. Thus, the number and complexity of the joining process is reduced by the insertion of the cooler elements in a single connector body through matching connection ports, which greatly simplifies the assembly.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the coolant inlet channel is provided with an outlet connection for connecting the heat exchanger, in particular the cold side of the cooling channel, and the coolant outlet channel is provided with an inlet connection for connecting the heat exchanger, in particular the hot side of the cooling channel, so that the cooler element can be formed from only one connector body and only one heat exchanger, and several such identical cooler elements can be plugged together into one intercell cooler.

[0035] Further advantages and application possibilities of the invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a portion of an intercell cooler having multiple interleaved connector bodies according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing a part of the intercell cooler of FIG. 1 with a fluid guide path in a connector body cut away. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of a portion of a cooler element of the intercell cooler of FIG. 1, viewed obliquely from a radially outer connection port contour; [Figure 4] 2 is an exemplary diagram showing a portion of a cooler element of the intercell cooler of FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely at a radially inner connection port contour portion. FIG. [Diagram 5] 4 shows a part of FIG. 3 with an associated coolant deflector which in the exemplary embodiment is formed as a deflection tube. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] FIG. 1 shows part of a cooler 1 (the rest is not shown) configured as an intercell cooler for a high-voltage battery of a motor vehicle.

[0038] The cooler 1 comprises a number of cooler elements 2, all of which are identically formed at least with respect to the connector body 4 and are inserted so as to overlap each other in a tight manner (sealed by two peripheral seals 18, in this example O-rings) with respect to the coolant along the longitudinal axis L of the coolant guide passages 14, 16 which they form. The connector body 4 thus forms a common rail on the supply line side (coolant guide passage 14 on the low temperature side) and a common rail on the discharge line side (coolant guide passage 16 on the high temperature side).

[0039] The paths of both common rails 14,16 as well as the location of the peripheral seal 18 can be seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG.

[0040] Each of the cooler elements 2 comprises exactly one connector body 4 and exactly one thermal plate as a heat exchanger 10 having a cooling path 12, which is arranged via a cooling path connection port at a connection port 15 on the supply line side of the coolant guide path 14 on the low temperature side of each connector body 4 and at a connection port 17 on the discharge line side of the coolant guide path 14 on the low temperature side.

[0041] The cell rows of the cooler 1 are not shown in the figures. Between two adjacent heat exchangers 10, one cell row to be cooled is arranged, each row being cooled on both sides at the outer periphery of the cells. To improve the cooling, each heat exchanger 10 is corrugated according to the outer periphery of the individual cells, so that adjacent cell rows are arranged slightly offset from each other from the respective connector bodies, at the distance of their central longitudinal axes.

[0042] The connector body 4 is manufactured by an aluminum die casting method. The heat exchanger 10 is formed from an extruded aluminum hollow section sprayed with a dielectric. In the turning area (not shown), the heat exchanger 10 is folded or is formed from two hollow sections, between which a duct is arranged to divert the coolant at the turning point. To ensure the transfer of the coolant to and from the cooling channel 12, the connection ports 15, 17 are soldered to the cooling channel ports or are connected in a tight manner to the coolant by other suitable methods, which are obvious to a person skilled in the art.

[0043] Figures 3 and 4 show by way of example two different oblique views of a part of the cooler element 2 of the cooler 1 of Figure 1. The view in Figure 3 is directed towards the radially outer connection contours 22, 26 (male plug partners 20, 24) of both common rails 14, 16, and in Figure 4 towards the radially inner connection contours 32, 36 (female plug partners 30, 34) of both common rails 14, 16.

[0044] For the low-temperature side common rail 14, the flow of low-temperature coolant (dashed line) is along the longitudinal axis L within each connector body 4 from the female plug partner 30 to the male plug partner 20, so that the female plug partner forms the low-temperature side inlet path connection port 30 and the male plug partner forms the low-temperature side outlet path connection port 20.

[0045] For the high temperature side common rail 16, the flow of coolant (dashed line) is along the longitudinal axis L within each connector body 4 from the male plug partner 24 to the female plug partner 34, so that the male plug partner forms the high temperature side inlet path connection port 24 and the female plug partner forms the high temperature side outlet path connection port 34.

[0046] Each of the identically formed connector bodies 4 in this embodiment has an aluminum body 5 having two coolant manifolds 14_4, 16_4, and in each of these coolant manifolds, a connecting portion connection port 15 or 17 is arranged between an inlet path connection port 30 or 24 and an outlet path connection port 20 or 34 (see Figure 4).

[0047] The male-formed connection ports 20, 24 each have a radially outer peripheral contour portion 22 or 26, which are formed to have a shape that matches at least the radially inner connection port contour portion 32 or 36 of the female-formed connection ports 30, 34.

[0048] This allows a number of identically formed connector bodies to be plugged into one another, so that the coolant guide channels between adjacent connector bodies can be made tight against the coolant when the plugged inlet and outlet connections are properly sealed, without the need for connecting parts, e.g. tubing, which are required in the known plugging methods of known connector bodies.

[0049] In this embodiment, both male connection ports 20, 24 are formed identically, and as a result, the corresponding female connection ports 30, 34 are also formed identically, so that the connector body is further simplified in manufacture.

[0050] Thus, the exemplary cooler 1 can be made axially packed to cool the periphery of the circular cell array from both sides.

[0051] When the cooler 1 is assembled, the first side wall 41 of the connector body 4 and the second side wall 42 of the adjacent connector body come together to form a locking portion, which ensures a seal with the O-ring 18. This allows for a quick and easy visual inspection of correct assembly. Furthermore, the axially dense stacking of the connector bodies and the associated cooler elements is optimized.

[0052] Each of the female ports 32, 36 is provided with a through-hole 43 or 44 (either during injection molding or as a drilled hole) through which sealing material can be injected, if necessary, into the circumferential cavity 45 or 46 for subsequent repair of a failed O-ring seal. This circumferential cavity remains between the two normally matching port contours 22, 32 or 26, 36 when the adjacent connector bodies 4 are mated.

[0053] Figure 5 shows a part of the cooler element 2 shown in Figure 3 and furthermore the associated coolant deflection 13, which in this example is formed as a deflection tube, which for example defines a cylindrical cavity and has an upper coolant supply connection, into which the coolant from the upper part of the heat exchanger 10 is taken in, and likewise a lower coolant supply connection, into which the coolant is discharged towards the lower part of the heat exchanger 10. The heat exchanger 10 is not shown in its entire length, which is suggested in the figure by a double vertical dividing line. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1 cooler 2 Cooler element 4 Connector body 5 Aluminum body 10 Heat exchanger 12 Cooling path 13 Coolant turning section (here turning tube) 14 Low temperature side coolant guideway (low temperature side common rail) 14_4 Low temperature side coolant manifold 15 Low temperature side connection port 16 High temperature side coolant guideway (high temperature side common rail) 16_4 Low temperature side coolant manifold 17 High temperature side connection port 18 Circumferential seal section 20 Low temperature side outlet connection port 22, 26 Radially outer connection port contour 24 High temperature side inlet connection port 30 Low temperature side inlet connection port 32,36 Radially inner connection port contour 34 High temperature side outlet connection port 41,42 side wall 43,44 Penetrating cutout 45,46 Circumferential cavity L Longitudinal axis

Claims

1. A connector body (4) for a cooler (1) of a high-voltage battery, the connector body comprising a coolant guide passage (14, 16) extending between an inlet passage connection port (24, 30) and an outlet passage connection port (20, 34), and a connection port (15, 17) for connecting a heat exchanger (10) of the cooler to the coolant guide passage, The connector body is characterized in that the inlet passage connection port and the outlet passage connection port have connection port contour portions (22, 32; 26, 36) having the same shape.

2. 2. The connector body according to claim 1, A connector body, characterized in that one of the inlet path connection port and the outlet path connection port is formed as a male plug body (20, 24), and the other is formed as a female plug body (30, 34).

3. The connector body according to claim 1 or 2, A connector body comprising a first side wall (41), one of the inlet path connection port and the outlet path connection port extending from the first side wall so as to move away from the connecting portion connection port, and a second side wall (42), the other of the inlet path connection port and the outlet path connection port extending from the second side wall (42) so as to move toward the connecting portion connection port.

4. The connector body according to claim 3, The connector body is characterized in that the first side wall (41) and the second side wall (42) are formed so that the side walls abut against each other when the connector bodies are inserted into each other.

5. The connector body according to claim 3, The first side wall (41) and the second side wall (42) are formed so that when the two connector bodies are inserted into each other, these side walls together form an engaging portion, and a seal portion is reliably formed at the engaging portion.

6. The connector body according to claim 1 or 2, The connector body is characterized in that the matching connection port contours are formed such that, when a connection is formed, a circumferential cavity (45, 46) remains between both of the connection port contours.

7. 7. The connector body according to claim 6, The connection port formed to receive the connector has a cutout portion (43, 44) extending from the outer surface to a portion of the connection port contour, and the circumferential cavity portion (45, 46) is formed at the position of the portion when connected.

8. The connector body according to claim 1 or 2, A connector body comprising two coolant manifolds (14, 16) separated from each other, one of which is configured as a coolant inlet passage (14) and the other of which is configured as a coolant outlet passage (16).

9. 9. The connector body according to claim 8, The connector body is characterized in that the coolant inlet passage (14) is provided with an outlet side connecting portion connection port (15) for connecting the low temperature side of a heat exchanger, and the coolant outlet passage (16) is provided with an inlet side connecting portion connection port (17) for connecting the high temperature side of a heat exchanger.

10. A cooler element (2) for a cooler (1) of a high-voltage battery, comprising at least one connector body (4) according to claim 1 or 2, and a heat exchanger (10) having a cooling channel (12) tightly connected to the coupling portion connection port (15, 17) of the coolant guide channel (14, 16) of the connector body via a cooling channel connection port.

11. A cooler (1) for a high-voltage battery, comprising at least two cooler elements (2) according to claim 10, in which one or more inlet connection openings of an adjacent cooling element are connected to one or more outlet connection openings of the adjacent cooling element for conducting a coolant, in particular being interleaved with one another.

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