Battery cooling device

Abstract

To provide a battery cooling device that eliminates a cumbersome operation such as component replacement and that can remove or reduce moisture from an insulation oil for cooling a battery.SOLUTION: A battery cooling device comprises: a first pipeline that circulates insulation oil for cooling a battery; a second pipeline that circulates engine oil or cooling water for cooling an engine; and a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the insulation oil, flowing through the first pipeline and heated by cooling the battery, and the engine oil or the cooling water, flowing through the second pipeline and heated by cooling the engine.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery cooling device. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to improve the battery cooling performance, a method of directly cooling the battery using insulating oil has been considered. However, if moisture gets mixed into the insulating oil, the insulating properties of the insulating oil decrease, and the battery discharges through the insulating oil, which causes a decrease in capacity due to self-discharge, which has been an issue.

[0003] A method for recovering moisture mixed into insulating oil in this way is proposed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a battery and insulating oil are arranged inside a metal housing. The battery is provided with electrodes, electrode terminals electrically connected to the electrodes, and an electrolyte in a plastic outer container. Also disclosed is a configuration in which insulating oil and a moisture absorbent are provided on the outside of the outer container of the battery inside the metal housing, and moisture in the insulating oil is absorbed by the absorbent. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-022151 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the case of a configuration in which moisture is removed from insulating oil using a moisture absorbent, as in the invention described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to prepare or replace the moisture absorbent, and there is room for improvement.

[0006] In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery cooling device that can remove or reduce moisture from insulating oil used for cooling batteries without the hassle of replacing parts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A battery cooling device according to a first aspect includes a first pipeline for circulating insulating oil for cooling a battery, a second pipeline for circulating engine oil or cooling water for cooling an engine, and a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the insulating oil flowing through the first pipeline and heated by cooling the battery, and the engine oil or the cooling water flowing through the second pipeline and heated by cooling the engine.

[0008] In this battery cooling device, insulating oil flowing through the first pipe cools the battery and then flows into the heat exchanger. Also, engine oil or coolant flowing through the second pipe cools the engine and then flows into the heat exchanger. That is, in the heat exchanger, heat is exchanged between the insulating oil heated by the battery and the engine oil or coolant heated by the engine. At this time, the engine oil or coolant heated by the engine is at a higher temperature than the insulating oil heated by the battery, so the insulating oil is heated.

[0009] By heating the insulating oil, the moisture contained in the insulating oil is vaporized and removed. That is, the insulating oil is heated by heat exchange with the engine oil or the coolant heated by engine cooling, and the moisture contained in the insulating oil is vaporized, thereby reducing the amount of moisture contained in the insulating oil.

[0010] In addition, the moisture contained in the insulating oil can be removed or reduced simply by exchanging heat with engine oil or cooling water used to cool the engine, eliminating the need to install and replace adsorbents, etc. to remove moisture from the insulating oil, making it highly convenient.

[0011] A battery cooling device according to a second aspect is the battery cooling device according to the first aspect, and further comprises: a first circulation pipeline constituting part of the first pipeline, cooling the insulating oil outside the battery and returning it to the battery; a first branch pipeline constituting part of the first pipeline, branching off from a first position of the first circulation pipeline outside the battery, passing through the heat exchanger, and returning to a second position downstream of the first position in the first circulation pipeline outside the battery; a moisture content detection means provided on the first circulation pipeline outside the battery and detecting the moisture content of the insulating oil; a first opening / closing valve provided on the first branch pipeline and connecting or disconnecting the first circulation pipeline and the heat exchanger; and a control unit that opens the first opening / closing valve to connect the first circulation pipeline and the heat exchanger when the moisture content of the insulating oil detected by the moisture content detection means becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value.

[0012] In this battery cooling device, the first pipeline has a first circulation pipeline that cools the insulating oil outside the battery and returns it to the battery, and a first branch pipeline that branches off from a first position of the first circulation pipeline outside the battery, reaches the heat exchanger, and returns to a second position downstream of the first position of the first circulation pipeline outside the battery.

[0013] A first on-off valve for connecting or disconnecting the first circulation line and the heat exchanger is provided on the first branch line, and a moisture content detection means for detecting the moisture content of the insulating oil is provided on the first circulation line.

[0014] Here, when the moisture content of the insulating oil detected by the moisture content detection means becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value, the control unit of the battery cooling device opens the first on-off valve to communicate the first circulation pipe with the heat exchanger. As a result, the insulating oil is supplied to the heat exchanger from the first position of the first circulation pipe through the first branch pipe, and is heated by heat exchange with engine oil or coolant for cooling the engine. That is, the insulating oil is heated, and the moisture contained in the insulating oil is vaporized and removed. As a result, the insulating oil with reduced moisture content is returned from the first branch pipe to the second position downstream of the first position of the first circulation pipe and supplied to the battery.

[0015] In other words, only when the moisture content of the insulating oil becomes excessive is the moisture content of the insulating oil reduced by heating it through heat exchange with engine oil or engine coolant in a heat exchanger, and when the moisture content of the insulating oil is not excessive, insulating oil is circulated only through the first circulation line, improving the battery cooling capacity.

[0016] A battery cooling device of a third aspect is the battery cooling device of the second aspect, further comprising a second on-off valve provided on the first branch pipeline on the opposite side of the heat exchanger from the first on-off valve, which connects or disconnects the first circulation pipeline and the heat exchanger, an oil temperature detection means on the first branch pipeline between the first on-off valve and the second on-off valve, and a control unit that opens the second on-off valve to connect the first circulation pipeline and the heat exchanger when the temperature of the insulating oil detected by the oil temperature detection means becomes equal to or higher than a second threshold value.

[0017] This battery cooling device is provided with a second on-off valve on the opposite side of the heat exchanger from the first on-off valve in the first branch pipeline, which connects or disconnects the heat exchanger and the first circulation pipeline, and further includes an oil temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of insulating oil in the first branch pipeline between the first on-off valve and the second on-off valve.

[0018] When the moisture content of the insulating oil detected by the moisture content detection means becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value, the control unit of the battery cooling device opens the first on-off valve to communicate the first circulation pipeline with one side of the heat exchanger on the first branch pipeline. At this time, by closing the second on-off valve disposed on the opposite side of the heat exchanger in the first branch pipeline to the first on-off valve, the insulating oil is retained in the first branch pipeline and heated by heat exchange with the engine oil or the coolant.

[0019] The control unit of the battery cooling device detects, by an oil temperature detection means disposed between the first and second on-off valves on the first branch pipeline, that when the temperature of the insulating oil reaches or exceeds a second threshold, opens the second on-off valve to return the insulating oil to the first circulation pipeline and supply it to the battery.

[0020] In other words, the second on-off valve is closed to allow the insulating oil to remain in the first branch pipeline until the temperature of the insulating oil reaches or exceeds a temperature (second threshold) at which the moisture contained in the insulating oil is sufficiently vaporized, and after the moisture content of the insulating oil has been sufficiently reduced, the insulating oil is supplied to the battery via the first circulation pipeline.

[0021] This enables the battery cooling device to reliably reduce the moisture content of the insulating oil.

[0022] A battery cooling device according to a fourth aspect is the battery cooling device according to the first aspect, and further comprises: a second circulation line constituting part of the second pipeline and cooling the engine oil or the coolant outside the engine and returning it to the engine; a second branch line constituting part of the second pipeline and branching off from a third position of the second circulation pipeline outside the engine, passing through the heat exchanger, and returning to a fourth position downstream of the third position in the second circulation pipeline outside the engine; a moisture content detection means provided on the first pipeline outside the battery and detecting the moisture content of the insulating oil; a third opening / closing valve provided on the second branch pipeline and connecting or disconnecting the second circulation pipeline and the heat exchanger; and a control unit that opens the third opening / closing valve to connect the second circulation pipeline and the heat exchanger when the moisture content of the insulating oil detected by the moisture content detection means becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value.

[0023] In this battery cooling device, the second pipeline has a second circulation pipeline that cools engine oil or coolant outside the engine and returns it to the engine, and a second branch pipeline that branches off from a third position of the second circulation pipeline outside the engine, reaches the heat exchanger, and returns to a fourth position downstream of the third position of the second circulation pipeline outside the engine.

[0024] The second branch pipe is provided with a third on-off valve for connecting or disconnecting the second circulation pipe to the heat exchanger. Also, a moisture content detection means for detecting the moisture content of the insulating oil is provided on the second circulation pipe.

[0025] Here, when the moisture content of the insulating oil detected by the moisture content detection means becomes equal to or greater than the first threshold value, the control unit of the battery cooling device opens the third on-off valve to communicate the second circulation line with the heat exchanger. As a result, engine oil or coolant is supplied to the heat exchanger from the third position of the second circulation line through the second branch line. That is, in the heat exchanger, the insulating oil is heated by heat exchange with the engine oil or coolant for engine cooling, and the moisture contained in the insulating oil is vaporized and removed. As a result, insulating oil with a reduced moisture content is supplied to the battery.

[0026] In other words, only when the moisture content of the insulating oil becomes excessive is the moisture content of the insulating oil reduced by heating it through heat exchange with engine oil or cooling water supplied to the heat exchanger, and when the moisture content of the insulating oil is not excessive, heat exchange is suppressed by not supplying engine oil or cooling water to the heat exchanger, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the insulating oil. Effect of the Invention

[0027] The present disclosure makes it possible to remove or reduce moisture from insulating oil used for cooling batteries without the hassle of replacing parts, etc. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a battery cooling device according to one embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a battery cooling device according to one embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow in a battery cooling device in one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] [Embodiment] A battery cooling device that is applied to a vehicle according to one embodiment will be described.

[0030] (composition) As shown in FIG. 1, the battery cooling device 10 is a system mounted on a vehicle, and has a battery 12 for driving the vehicle, an engine 14, and a heat exchanger 16.

[0031] The vehicle is a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and is equipped with an engine 14 and a battery 12 for driving.

[0032] The battery 12 is provided with an insulating oil pipe 18 for circulating insulating oil for cooling the battery.

[0033] The insulating oil pipeline 18 has a first circulation pipeline 20 that passes inside the battery 12, exits the battery 12, and returns to the inside of the battery 12, and a first branch pipeline 22 that branches off from the first circulation pipeline 20 outside the battery 12, passes through the heat exchanger 16, and returns to the first circulation pipeline 20 outside the battery 12. The insulating oil pipeline 18 corresponds to the "first pipeline."

[0034] On the first circulation line 20, a battery 12, a reservoir 24, a pump 26, and a chiller 28 are disposed.

[0035] The battery 12 is directly cooled by the insulating oil supplied from the first circulation line 20 .

[0036] Inside the battery 12, a battery temperature detection sensor 38 (see FIG. 2) for detecting the temperature of the battery 12 is provided.

[0037] A reservoir 24 is provided for replacement of the insulating oil.

[0038] The pump 26 is driven to cause the insulating oil to flow counterclockwise in FIG.

[0039] The chiller 28 re-cools the insulating oil whose temperature has increased due to cooling the batteries 12, etc.

[0040] 1, a moisture-in-oil detection sensor 36 that detects the amount of moisture contained in the insulating oil is provided on the first circulation pipeline 20. The moisture-in-oil detection sensor 36 may be disposed at any position on the first circulation pipeline 20 as long as it is outside the battery 12, but in this embodiment, it is disposed between the second position P2 and the chiller 28. The moisture-in-oil detection sensor 36 corresponds to the "moisture content detection means."

[0041] On the other hand, the first branch pipeline 22 is a pipeline that branches off from a first position P1 in the first circulation pipeline 20 located outside the battery 12, passes through the heat exchanger 16, and joins the first circulation pipeline 20 located outside the battery 12 at a second position P2 downstream of the first position P1.

[0042] On the first branch pipe 22, a first on-off valve 30, a heat exchanger 16, a reservoir 32, and a second on-off valve 34 are arranged from the upstream (first position P1) side.

[0043] The first on-off valve 30 connects or disconnects the first circulation line 20 (the first position P1 of the first circulation line 20) and the first branch line 22 (the upper heat exchanger 16).

[0044] The heat exchanger 16 exchanges heat between the insulating oil in the first branch pipe 22 and the cooling water of the engine 14, which will be described later.

[0045] The reservoir 32 temporarily stores the insulating oil heated by the heat exchanger 16 and discharges the vaporized moisture to the outside of the reservoir 32 (insulating oil).

[0046] The second on-off valve 34 connects or disconnects the first circulation line 20 (the first position P2 of the first circulation line 20) and the first branch line 22 (the upper heat exchanger 16). One of the first on-off valve 30 and the second on-off valve 34 corresponds to a "first open valve" and the other corresponds to a "second open valve."

[0047] Further, an oil temperature detection sensor 37 for detecting the temperature of the insulating oil is disposed on the first branch pipe 22 between the first on-off valve 30 and the second on-off valve 34. The oil temperature detection sensor 37 corresponds to the "oil temperature detection means."

[0048] On the other hand, the engine 14 is provided with a cooling water pipe 40 that circulates cooling water for cooling the engine. The cooling water pipe 40 corresponds to the "second pipe."

[0049] The cooling water pipe 40 is a pipe that runs from the inside of the engine 14 to the outside of the engine 14, cools the heated cooling water, and supplies it to the engine 14 again.

[0050] The cooling water pipe 40 has a second circulation pipe 42 that runs from the inside of the engine 14 to the outside and then returns to the inside of the engine 14, and a second branch pipe 44 that branches off from the second circulation pipe 42 located outside the engine 14, passes through the heat exchanger 16, and returns to the second circulation pipe 42 located outside the engine 14.

[0051] A radiator 43 for cooling the cooling water is disposed between the third and fourth positions on the second circulation line 42, and the cooling water heated by engine cooling is cooled again and then used for engine cooling.

[0052] The second branch pipe 44 is a pipe that branches off at a third position P3 in the second circulation pipe 42 located outside the engine 14, passes through the heat exchanger 16, and merges with the second circulation pipe 42 located outside the engine 14 at a fourth position P4 downstream of the third position P3.

[0053] A third on-off valve 46 is provided on the second branch pipe 44 between the third position P3 and the heat exchanger 16.

[0054] The third on-off valve 46 connects or disconnects the second circulation line 42 (the third position P3 of the second circulation line 42) and the second branch line 44 (the upper heat exchanger 16).

[0055] Furthermore, a coolant temperature detection sensor 48 that detects the temperature of the coolant is disposed on the coolant pipe 40. The coolant temperature detection sensor 48 is provided at an arbitrary position on the second circulation pipe 42 outside the engine 14, but in this embodiment, it is provided upstream of the third position P3.

[0056] Furthermore, the battery cooling device 10 has a control unit 50. The hardware configuration of the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0057] The control unit 50 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor) 50A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 50B, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 50C, a storage 50D, and an input / output interface (input / output I / F) 50E. Each component is connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 50F.

[0058] The CPU 50A is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 50A reads the programs from the ROM 50B or the storage 50D, and executes the programs using the RAM 50C as a working area. The CPU 50A controls each of the above components and performs various arithmetic processing according to the programs recorded in the ROM 50B or the storage 50D.

[0059] The ROM 50B stores various programs and various data. The RAM 50C serves as a working area for temporarily storing programs or data.

[0060] The storage 50D is configured with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) and stores various programs including an operating system and various data. The storage 50D of this embodiment stores a program. This program may be stored in the ROM 50B.

[0061] The input / output interface (hereinafter referred to as "input / output I / F") 50E is an interface for communicating with other devices. Specifically, the control unit 50 is connected to the water-in-oil detection sensor 36, the oil temperature detection sensor 37, the battery temperature detection sensor 38, the cooling water temperature detection sensor 48, the first opening / closing valve 30, the second opening / closing valve 34, and the third opening / closing valve 46 via the input / output I / F 50E.

[0062] [Effect] Next, the processing in the battery cooling device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0063] The following process is repeated at predetermined time intervals.

[0064] The first on-off valve 30, the second on-off valve 34, and the third on-off valve 46 are normally closed valves, and are configured to open only when an open valve signal is input from the control unit 50. When a close valve signal is input to the first on-off valve 30, the second on-off valve 34, and the third on-off valve 46, if they are open they close, and if they are closed they maintain the closed state.

[0065] First, in step S10 of Figure 3 (hereinafter, "of Figure 3" will be omitted), the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 determines whether the moisture content of the insulating oil flowing through the first circulation pipeline 20 exceeds a first threshold value based on the detection signal of the moisture-in-oil detection sensor 36.

[0066] If the determination in step S10 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S12, and if the determination in step S10 is negative, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0067] In step S12, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 determines, based on the detection signal of the battery temperature detection sensor , whether the temperature of the battery 12 is equal to or lower than the second threshold value.

[0068] If the determination in step S12 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S14, and if the determination in step S12 is negative, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0069] In step S14, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 outputs a valve open signal to the first on-off valve 30. This opens the first on-off valve 30, and the first circulation line 20 (the first position P1 of the first circulation line 20) and the first branch line 22 (the heat exchanger 16 of the first branch line 22) are communicated with each other.

[0070] This means that when the moisture content in the insulating oil is equal to or higher than the first threshold and needs to be reduced (YES in step S10), and the temperature of the battery 12 is equal to or lower than the second threshold, i.e., when the battery cooling device 10 has spare battery cooling capacity (YES in step S12), the first opening / closing valve 30 is opened.

[0071] On the other hand, in step S16, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 outputs a valve closing signal to the first on-off valve 30 and ends the process. This closes the first on-off valve 30 and blocks the first circulation line 20 and the first branch line 22. Alternatively, the first on-off valve 30 is maintained in a closed state and the first circulation line 20 and the first branch line 22 are maintained in a blocked state.

[0072] When the moisture content in the insulating oil is less than the first threshold value and there is no need to reduce the moisture content (NO in step S10), or when the temperature of the battery 12 exceeds the second threshold value, i.e., when the battery cooling device 10 has no spare battery cooling capacity (NO in step S12), the first opening / closing valve 30 is closed to block the first circulation line 20 and the first branch line 22, and the insulating oil is circulated only in the first circulation line 20, thereby improving the battery cooling capacity.

[0073] On the other hand, in step S18 following step S14, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 determines, based on the detection signal of the coolant temperature detection sensor 48, whether the coolant temperature is within a predetermined range.

[0074] If the determination in step S18 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S20, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S22.

[0075] In step S20, an open valve signal is output to the third on-off valve 46. This opens the third on-off valve 46, and the second circulation line 42 communicates with the second branch line 44. As a result, cooling water is supplied from (the third position P3 of) the second circulation line 42 to the second branch line 44.

[0076] As a result, heat is exchanged in the heat exchanger 16 between the insulating oil supplied to the first branch pipe 22 and the cooling water supplied to the second branch pipe 44. The temperature of the cooling water, whose temperature has increased by cooling the engine 14, is higher than the temperature of the insulating oil, whose temperature has increased by cooling the battery 12. Therefore, the insulating oil is heated in the heat exchanger 16, and the cooling water is cooled.

[0077] On the other hand, in step S22, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 outputs a valve closing signal to the third on-off valve 46 and ends the process. This closes the third on-off valve 46, blocking the second circulation line 42 and the second branch line 44. Alternatively, the third on-off valve 46 is maintained in a closed state, and the second circulation line 42 and the second branch line 44 are maintained in a blocked state.

[0078] This is because when the cooling water temperature is higher than the upper limit temperature of a specified range, there is no spare engine cooling capacity, so the cooling water is supplied only to the second circulation pipe 42 (the radiator 43) in order to efficiently cool the cooling water, thereby improving the engine cooling capacity of the cooling water.

[0079] Also, when the cooling water temperature is lower than the lower limit temperature of the predetermined range, even if the cooling water is supplied to the heat exchanger 16, the insulating oil cannot be sufficiently heated by heat exchange.

[0080] In step S24 following step S20, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 determines, based on the detection signal of the oil temperature detection sensor 37, whether the temperature of the insulating oil in the first branch pipe 22 (between the first on-off valve 30 and the second on-off valve 34) is equal to or higher than a third threshold value.

[0081] If the determination in step S24 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S26, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S28.

[0082] In step S26, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 outputs a valve open signal to the second on-off valve 34. This opens the second on-off valve 34, and the insulating oil is supplied (returned) from the first branch pipe 22 to the first circulation pipe 20 (to the second position P2 of the first circulation pipe 20).

[0083] At this time, moisture vaporized from the insulating oil heated to a sufficiently high temperature is discharged as steam to the outside in the reservoir 32 of the first branch pipe 22. In this manner, the insulating oil with a reduced moisture content is returned from the second position P2 to the first circulation pipe 20.

[0084] Therefore, the insulating oil whose moisture content has been reduced in the first branch pipe 22 is cooled in the chiller 28 and then supplied to the battery 12.

[0085] In step S28, the CPU 50A of the control unit 50 outputs a valve closing signal to the second on-off valve 34 and ends the process. This causes the second on-off valve 34 to close (or maintains the closed state), and the insulating oil is retained in the first branch pipe 22. This causes the insulating oil to be heated in the first branch pipe 22 (heat exchanger 16) until it is heated to a sufficient temperature.

[0086] (effect) In this way, in the battery cooling device 10, the insulating oil for cooling the battery flowing through the insulating oil pipe 18 is heat exchanged with the cooling water of the engine 14 in the heat exchanger 16, thereby increasing the temperature of the insulating oil. As a result, the moisture in the insulating oil is vaporized, and the moisture content of the insulating oil can be reduced. In other words, by utilizing the heat (cooling water) on the engine side, the moisture content of the insulating oil for cooling the battery 12 can be reduced without providing a special heating means.

[0087] Furthermore, as described above, the battery cooling device 10 does not require the use of a moisture absorbent that requires replacement in order to remove moisture from the insulating oil, and therefore maintenance is easy.

[0088] Furthermore, insulating oil pipeline 18 is composed of a first circulation pipeline 20 including batteries 12, and a first branch pipeline 22 that branches off from first circulation pipeline 20 and passes through heat exchanger 16. Only when the moisture content of the insulating oil in first circulation pipeline 20 becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value and it is necessary to reduce the moisture content, the insulating oil is supplied to heat exchanger 16 and heated to vaporize the moisture in the insulating oil, thereby reducing the moisture content of the insulating oil.

[0089] On the other hand, when there is no need to reduce the moisture content of the insulating oil (when the moisture content is less than the first threshold value), the first opening / closing valve 30 is closed to block the first circulation line 20 and the first branch line 22, and the insulating oil is circulated only through the first circulation line 20, thereby improving the battery cooling capacity compared to when circulating oil is also supplied to the first branch line 22.

[0090] That is, the battery cooling capacity of the battery cooling device 10 is improved by not performing heat exchange (heating) for vaporizing moisture in the insulating oil except when the moisture is being reduced.

[0091] Furthermore, in the battery cooling device 10 of this embodiment, only when the temperature of the battery 12 is equal to or lower than the second threshold, i.e., when there is a margin in the battery cooling capacity of the insulating oil, the insulating oil is supplied from the first circulation pipeline 20 to the first branch pipeline 22 to be heated, thereby reducing the moisture content of the insulating oil. Therefore, when there is no margin in the battery cooling capacity, the insulating oil is circulated only through the first circulation pipeline 20, thereby improving the battery cooling capacity compared to the case where insulating oil is also supplied to the first branch pipeline 22.

[0092] Furthermore, in the battery cooling device 10 (control unit 50) of this embodiment, an oil temperature detection sensor 37 is arranged between the first opening / closing valve 30 and the second opening / closing valve 34 in the first branch pipeline 22, and the opening and closing of the second opening / closing valve 34 is controlled based on the temperature of the insulating oil in the first branch pipeline 22.

[0093] In other words, when the temperature of the insulating oil in the first branch pipeline 22 is less than the third threshold value, the control unit 50 causes the insulating oil to remain in the first branch pipeline 22 and heats it by the heat exchanger 16 until the temperature reaches a level at which the moisture in the insulating oil is sufficiently vaporized.

[0094] On the other hand, when the temperature of the insulating oil in the first branch pipe 22 is equal to or higher than the third threshold value, the control unit 50 determines that the insulating oil in the first branch pipe 22 has been sufficiently heated and the moisture in the insulating oil has been sufficiently vaporized and removed, and opens the second on-off valve 34 to return the insulating oil to the first circulation pipe 20. That is, the insulating oil from which the moisture has been sufficiently removed in the reservoir 32 can be supplied to the battery 12 via the first circulation pipe 20.

[0095] Furthermore, in the cooling water pipe 40, the control unit 50 supplies the cooling water from the second circulation pipe 42 to the second branch pipe 44 (heat exchanger 16) only when the cooling water temperature is within a predetermined temperature range, thereby enabling the insulating oil to be heated in the heat exchanger 16. This is because, when the cooling water temperature is equal to or higher than the upper limit temperature of the predetermined range, i.e., when there is no spare capacity in the engine cooling capacity, the cooling water is supplied only to the second circulation pipe 42 (radiator 43), which has a higher cooling capacity than the heat exchanger 16, thereby improving the engine cooling capacity.

[0096] In addition, when the cooling water temperature is below the lower limit temperature of a specified range, the supply of cooling water to heat exchanger 16 is stopped because the insulating oil cannot be sufficiently heated even if cooling water is supplied to heat exchanger 16.

[0097] In this way, by supplying cooling water to heat exchanger 16 only when the temperature of the cooling water is within a specified range, it is possible to ensure a specified engine cooling capacity while also ensuring the heating capacity of heat exchanger 16 for the insulating oil.

[0098] Furthermore, since the moisture-in-oil detection sensor 36 is located downstream of the second position P2 on the first circulation pipeline 20 outside the battery 12 (between the second position P2 and the chiller 28), it can detect the moisture content of the insulating oil, including the insulating oil that has returned (from which moisture has been removed) from the first branch pipeline 22 to the first circulation pipeline 20.

[0099] (others) In this embodiment, the engine coolant (coolant pipe 40) has been described, but the engine oil (engine oil pipe) may be configured in a similar manner.

[0100] In the present embodiment, the insulating oil pipe 18 and the cooling water pipe 40 are provided with the first branch pipes 22 and 44, respectively, but they may be provided in only one of them. That is, the insulating oil pipe 18 may have the first circulation pipe 20 and the first branch pipe 22, but the cooling water pipe 40 may have only the second circulation pipe 42, or the insulating oil pipe 18 may have only the first circulation pipe 20, but the cooling water pipe 40 may have the second circulation pipe 42 and the second branch pipe 44. In either case, an on-off valve is provided in at least either the first branch pipe 22 or the second branch pipe 44, and the on-off valve is opened only when the moisture concentration of the insulating oil is equal to or higher than the first threshold value, thereby performing heat exchange between the engine cooling water and the insulating oil to remove moisture.

[0101] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the third on-off valve 46 is opened to supply coolant to the heat exchanger 16 only when the coolant temperature of the engine 14 is within a predetermined range, but the third on-off valve 46 may be opened if the coolant temperature is equal to or higher than the lower limit temperature of the predetermined range. In other words, the coolant may be supplied to the heat exchanger 16 if the temperature is equal to or higher than a temperature at which the insulating oil can be sufficiently heated.

[0102] Although the emergency call device and the like according to the embodiment have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0103] Moreover, the display process that the CPU reads the software (program) and executes in the above embodiment may be executed by various processors other than the CPU. In this case, examples of the processor include a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, and a dedicated electric circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed exclusively for executing a specific process. Moreover, the process may be executed by one of these various processors, or may be executed by a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a plurality of FPGAs, and a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). Moreover, the hardware structure of these various processors is, more specifically, an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0104] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, various data are stored in the storage, but this is not limiting. For example, a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory may be used as the storage unit. In this case, various programs and data are stored in these recording media. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 10 Battery cooling device 12 batteries 14 Engine 16 Heat exchanger 18 Insulating oil line (first line) 20 1st circulation pipe 22 First branch pipeline 30 First on-off valve (or second on-off valve) 34 Second on-off valve (or first on-off valve) 36 Moisture-in-oil detection sensor (means for detecting moisture content) 37 Oil temperature detection sensor (oil temperature detection means) 40 Cooling water pipe (second pipe) 42 Second circulation pipe 44 Second Branch Pipe 46 Third opening and closing valve 50 Control section P1 1st position P2 2nd position P3 3rd position P4 4th position

Claims

1. a first pipe through which insulating oil for cooling the battery is circulated; a second pipe for circulating engine oil or cooling water for cooling the engine; a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the insulating oil flowing through the second pipe and heated by cooling the battery, and the engine oil or the cooling water flowing through the second pipe and heated by cooling the engine; a first circulation pipe that constitutes a part of the first pipe and cools the insulating oil outside the battery and returns the insulating oil to the battery; a first branch pipe that constitutes a part of the first pipe, branches off from a first position of the first circulation pipe outside the battery, passes through the heat exchanger, and returns to a second position downstream of the first position in the first circulation pipe outside the battery; a moisture content detection means provided in the first circulation line outside the battery for detecting a moisture content of the insulating oil; a first on-off valve provided in the first branch line and configured to connect or disconnect the first circulation line and the heat exchanger; a control unit that opens the first on-off valve to communicate between the first circulation line and the heat exchanger when the moisture content of the insulating oil detected by the moisture content detection means becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value; A battery cooling device comprising:

2. A first pipe for circulating insulating oil for cooling a battery; a second pipe for circulating engine oil or cooling water for cooling the engine; a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the insulating oil flowing through the second pipe and heated by cooling the battery, and the engine oil or the cooling water flowing through the second pipe and heated by cooling the engine; a second circulation line that constitutes a part of the second line and cools the engine oil or the cooling water outside the engine and returns the engine oil or the cooling water to the engine; a second branch line that constitutes a part of the second pipe, branches off from a third position of the second circulation pipe outside the engine, passes through the heat exchanger, and returns to a fourth position downstream of the third position in the second circulation pipe outside the engine; a moisture content detection means provided in the first pipeline outside the battery for detecting a moisture content of the insulating oil; a third on-off valve provided in the second branch line and configured to connect or disconnect the second circulation line and the heat exchanger; a control unit that opens the third on-off valve to communicate the second circulation line with the heat exchanger when the moisture content of the insulating oil detected by the moisture content detection means becomes equal to or greater than a first threshold value; A battery cooling device comprising:

3. a second on-off valve provided on the first branch line on the opposite side of the heat exchanger from the first on-off valve, the second on-off valve connecting or blocking the first circulation line and the heat exchanger; an oil temperature detection means for detecting a temperature of the insulating oil between the first on-off valve and the second on-off valve in the first branch pipe; Further equipped with The battery cooling device of claim 1, wherein the control unit opens the second opening / closing valve to connect the first circulation line to the heat exchanger when the temperature of the insulating oil detected by the oil temperature detection means becomes equal to or higher than a second threshold value.

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