Liquid-cooled battery pack and vehicle

Abstract

The present application relates to a liquid-cooled battery pack and a vehicle. The liquid-cooled battery pack comprises: a case, having a first accommodating cavity, and a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet that are communicated with the first accommodating cavity; and a battery module, arranged in the first accommodating cavity and supported on the bottom surface of the first accommodating cavity, wherein the height of the coolant outlet relative to the bottom surface is lower than the height of the top of the battery module relative to the bottom surface.

Description

Liquid-cooled battery pack and vehicle

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202421915600.6, filed on August 7, 2024, to the Chinese Patent Office, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of liquid-cooled battery packs, in particular to a liquid-cooled battery pack and a vehicle. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the related art, as the capacity of the battery pack is continuously improved, a lot of heat is generated in the battery pack during operation. If this heat cannot be discharged in time, the temperature inside the battery pack will continue to rise, which will cause the temperature difference between different positions in the battery pack to become larger and larger, thereby affecting the service life of the battery pack, or even cause the battery pack to stop working or even explode due to excessive heat, thereby causing serious accidents. SUMMARY

[0004] The conventional battery pack cooling method is mostly immersion cooling, that is, the inside of the battery pack is directly filled with cooling liquid, so that it is fully immersed in the cooling liquid. Although this method can cool the battery components, it requires a large amount of cooling liquid and has high production cost, and the economic benefit is relatively low.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need to design a liquid-cooled battery pack and a vehicle to solve the technical problems.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a liquid-cooled battery pack, which comprises: a box body having a first accommodating cavity, an inlet and an outlet communicating with the first accommodating cavity; a battery module arranged in the first accommodating cavity and supported on the bottom surface of the first accommodating cavity; wherein the height of the outlet relative to the bottom surface is lower than the height of the top of the battery module relative to the bottom surface.

[0007] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a vehicle comprising the liquid-cooled battery pack as described above. ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

[0008] The liquid-cooled battery pack provided in the application sets the height of the liquid inlet in the first direction to be lower than the height of the liquid outlet in the first direction, and sets the height of the liquid outlet in the first direction to be lower than the height of the battery module in the first direction. Through the above structure, when the cooling liquid flows into the first containing cavity from the liquid inlet, the battery module in the first containing cavity can be cooled, and then flows out from the liquid outlet. Since the height of the liquid outlet is lower than the height of the battery module, the battery module is only partially immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the amount of cooling liquid can be reduced, thereby reducing the production cost of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and facilitating the batch production of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0009] The vehicle provided in the application uses the above battery pack, which is beneficial to maintaining the stable operation of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the liquid-cooled battery pack provided in the embodiment;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a top view of the liquid-cooled battery pack provided in the embodiment;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of A-A in FIG. 2;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of part of the structure of the liquid-cooled battery pack provided in the embodiment;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the box provided in the embodiment;

[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the heat insulation member provided in the embodiment;

[0016] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sealing member provided in the embodiment;

[0017] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the battery module provided in the embodiment.

[0018] Among them, the above drawings include the following reference signs:

[0019] 10, box; 11, first containing cavity; 12, liquid inlet; 13, liquid outlet; 14, bottom plate; 141, opening; 15, side plate; 16, cover plate; 17, partition plate; 18, second containing cavity;

[0020] 20, battery module; 21, battery cell; 22, end plate;

[0021] 30, heat insulation pad;

[0022] 40, heat insulation member;

[0023] 50, sealing member;

[0024] X, height direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack; Y, length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack; Z, width direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack. Embodiments of the present application

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 1-8, in a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a liquid-cooled battery pack, which comprises: a box body 10 having a first accommodating cavity 11, and a liquid inlet 12 and a liquid outlet 13 in communication with the first accommodating cavity 11; and a battery module 20 arranged in the first accommodating cavity 11 and supported on the bottom surface of the first accommodating cavity 11; wherein the height of the liquid outlet 13 relative to the bottom surface is lower than the height of the top of the battery module 20 relative to the bottom surface.

[0026] According to the technical scheme of the present application, the height of the liquid inlet 12 in the first direction is set to be lower than the height of the liquid outlet 13 in the first direction, and the height of the liquid outlet 13 in the first direction is set to be lower than the height of the battery module 20 in the first direction. By setting the above structure, when the cooling liquid flows into the first accommodating cavity 11 from the liquid inlet 12, the battery module 20 in the first accommodating cavity 11 can be cooled, and then the cooling liquid flows out from the liquid outlet 13. Since the height of the liquid outlet 13 is lower than the height of the battery module 20, the battery module 20 is only partially immersed in the cooling liquid, which can reduce the amount of cooling liquid used, thereby reducing the production cost of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and facilitating the mass production of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0027] In an embodiment, the liquid-cooled battery further comprises a heat insulation pad 30, and a plurality of heat insulation pads 30 are arranged between the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11. The two sides of the heat insulation pad 30 are respectively in abutment with the side wall of the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11, and the plurality of heat insulation pads 30 on the same side of the battery module 20 are arranged in the height direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack with a spacing therebetween, and the spacing between the adjacent two heat insulation pads 30 forms a flow channel. By such arrangement, not only can the heat of the battery module 20 be prevented from being transmitted to the outside of the liquid-cooled battery pack, but also the cooling liquid can be uniformly distributed in the first accommodating cavity 11 by the flow channel, so as to improve the heat dissipation effect of the cooling liquid.

[0028] The heat insulation pad 30 can be a silica gel heat insulation pad 30. The silica gel has the following advantages: good elasticity and buffering performance: the silica gel pad has excellent elasticity and buffering performance, can effectively absorb and disperse impact force, thereby preventing the side wall of the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11 from colliding during use and causing damage to the structure of the silica gel itself, thereby protecting the structure of the side wall of the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11, and further improving the service life of the side wall of the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11. High and low temperature resistance: the silica gel can maintain its physical and chemical properties stable within a wide temperature range, and can maintain its good elasticity and durability in high temperature or low temperature environment, thereby preventing heat conduction between the side wall of the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11 as much as possible, thereby effectively preventing heat transfer to other battery cells 21 when the battery cells 21 are in thermal runaway, and ensuring normal operation of the assembly. Good insulation performance: the silica gel has excellent insulation performance, which can effectively prevent the current generated between the battery cells 21 from being short-circuited, thereby ensuring the stability of the battery module 20 in use. Easy to process and form: the silica gel can be processed and formed by a mold to produce gaskets of various shapes and sizes to meet the use requirements in different environments, thereby reducing the processing difficulty of the structure, improving the production efficiency of the structure, and reducing the implementation cost of the structure.

[0029] Alternatively, in other embodiments of the present application, the heat insulation pad 30 can also be aerogel or the like, as long as it can meet the use requirements of the device. The specific setting should be selected according to the use environment of the device, so as to improve the applicability and application range of the device.

[0030] In the present application, X is the height direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, Y is the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and Z is the width direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0031] In an embodiment, the liquid-cooled battery further comprises a heat insulation pad 30, and the battery module 20 comprises: a plurality of battery cells 21 arranged at intervals along the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack; two end plates 22 respectively arranged at the two ends of the battery module 20 along the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack; wherein a plurality of heat insulation pads 30 are arranged between adjacent two battery cells 21 and / or between the battery cell 21 and the end plate 22, and the plurality of heat insulation pads 30 located on the same side of the battery cell 21 are arranged at intervals along the height direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and the interval between adjacent two heat insulation pads 30 forms a second flow channel. In this way, the heat dissipation effect between the battery cells 21 can be further improved, so that the battery cells 21 operate at a stable temperature, which is conducive to improving the operation stability of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0032] In an embodiment, the liquid-cooled battery pack further comprises a thermal insulation piece 40, which is arranged between the side wall of the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11. The thermal insulation pad 30 is arranged between the side wall of the battery module 20 and the side wall of the thermal insulation piece 40, and the two sides of the thermal insulation pad 30 abut against the side wall of the battery module 20 and the side wall of the thermal insulation piece 40, respectively. In this way, the heat of the battery module 20 can be further prevented from spreading outside the liquid-cooled battery pack, thereby improving the thermal insulation effect on the battery module 20 and facilitating the stable operation of other components.

[0033] In the present application, the thermal insulation piece 40 can be arranged as a silica gel pad or other structures such as a mica plate. The specific arrangement should be selected according to the use environment of the thermal insulation piece 40, so as to improve the applicability and efficiency of the thermal insulation piece 40.

[0034] In an embodiment, the thermal insulation pad 30 between the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11 extends along the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and / or the thermal insulation pad 30 between the adjacent two battery cells 21 or the thermal insulation pad 30 between the battery cell 21 and the end plate 22 extends along the width direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack. In this way, the processing of the thermal insulation pad 30 is facilitated, and the flow of the cooling liquid is also facilitated.

[0035] In an embodiment, the accommodating cavity comprises a first end and a second end distributed along the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack. The liquid outlet 13 is located at the first end of the first accommodating cavity 11, and the thermal insulation pad 30 between the battery module 20 and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity 11 extends from the first end to the second end. In this way, the flow efficiency of the cooling liquid can be further improved, thereby improving the cooling effect of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0036] In an embodiment, the liquid-cooled battery pack further comprises a sealing piece 50 arranged in the first accommodating cavity 11. The height of the sealing piece 50 relative to the bottom surface is higher than the height of the liquid outlet 13 relative to the bottom surface, and the sealing piece 50 is used to prevent the cooling liquid from leaking from the first accommodating cavity 11. In this way, the flow of the cooling liquid can be prevented from overflowing from the first accommodating cavity 11, thereby facilitating the stable operation of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0037] In an embodiment, the box 10 comprises a bottom plate 14, which has a cooling cavity and an opening 141 communicating with the cooling cavity, the liquid inlet 12 communicates with the cooling cavity, and the opening 141 is arranged on the side of the bottom plate 14 opposite to the first containing cavity 11; a side plate 15, which is arranged on the bottom plate 14 along the circumference of the bottom plate 14, and the bottom plate 14 and the side plate 15 form the first containing cavity 11; and a cover plate 16, which is arranged on the side plate 15, and the cooling liquid flows into the first containing cavity 11 through the liquid inlet 12, the cooling cavity and the opening 141 in sequence. In this way, the processing difficulty of the opening 141 can be reduced, and the flow efficiency of the cooling liquid can be improved, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0038] In an embodiment, the opening 141 is arranged corresponding to the bottom of the battery cell 21; and / or, the opening 141 is arranged corresponding to the interval between the adjacent two battery cells 21; and / or, the opening 141 is arranged corresponding to the interval between the battery cell 21 and the end plate 22. In this way, the heat dissipation requirement of the battery module 20 is met as much as possible, so that the stable operation of the battery module 20 can be maintained.

[0039] In an embodiment, the opening 141 comprises a circular hole and / or a square hole. The above structure is simple and easy to process, which can not only meet the flow requirement of the cooling liquid, but also reduce the processing cost of the opening 141.

[0040] In an embodiment, the extension direction of the opening 141 is perpendicular to the height direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack and the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack. Through the above structure, the processing of the opening 141 is more simple, so that the processing efficiency of the opening 141 can be improved to reduce the processing cost of the opening 141.

[0041] Optionally, in other embodiments of the present application, the opening 141 can also be arranged in a triangular or trapezoidal structure or other structures, and the specific arrangement should be selected according to the use environment of the device, as long as the flow requirement of the cooling liquid can be met.

[0042] In an embodiment, the containing cavity comprises a first end and a second end arranged along the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and the cross-sectional area of the opening 141 close to the first end is greater than that of the opening 141 close to the second end. In this way, the cooling liquid can be reasonably distributed, so that the temperature difference of different battery cells 21 can be reduced, which is beneficial to maintain the normal operation of the battery cell 21.

[0043] In an embodiment, the opening 141 has a plurality of openings 141 arranged on the bottom plate 14. In this way, the flow of the cooling liquid can be improved, so that the heat dissipation effect of the battery module 20 can be improved.

[0044] In an embodiment, the bottom plate 14 and the side plate 15 are integrally formed. Since the integrally formed structure is made by integral die casting or injection molding, etc., there is no welding point or connecting piece in the traditional structure, so the structure of the bottom plate 14 and the side plate 15 is more solid and can withstand greater force and impact. At the same time, since the materials of each part are tightly combined, it is not easy to loosen or fall off, thereby improving the overall stability and reliability of the bottom plate 14 and the side plate 15. Furthermore, the integrally formed process can accurately control the size and shape of the product during the manufacturing process, ensuring that the product meets the design requirements, thereby improving the processing precision of the bottom plate 14 and the side plate 15.

[0045] Alternatively, the bottom plate 14 and the side plate 15 can also be provided as a split structure, and the specific setting should be selected according to the use environment of the device, so as to improve the applicability and application range of the device.

[0046] In an embodiment, the box body 10 further comprises a partition plate 17, which divides the space between the side plate 15 and the bottom plate 14 into a first containing cavity 11 and a second containing cavity 18, and the second containing cavity 18 is used to contain electrical elements. In this way, the cooling liquid in the first containing cavity 11 can be prevented from flowing into the second containing cavity 18, so that the electrical elements in the second containing cavity 18 can maintain a normal operating state.

[0047] In an embodiment, the height of the liquid inlet 12 relative to the bottom surface is lower than the height of the liquid outlet 13 relative to the bottom surface.

[0048] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the utility model provide a vehicle, the vehicle includes the liquid-cooled battery pack as described above.

[0049] According to the technical scheme of the utility model, the height of the liquid inlet 12 in the first direction is set to be lower than the height of the liquid outlet 13 in the first direction, and the height of the liquid outlet 13 in the first direction is set to be lower than the height of the battery module 20 in the first direction. Through the above structure, when the cooling liquid flows into the first containing cavity 11 from the liquid inlet 12, the battery module 20 in the first containing cavity 11 can be cooled, and then flows out from the liquid outlet 13. Since the height of the liquid outlet 13 is lower than the height of the battery module 20, the battery module 20 is only partially immersed in the cooling liquid, so that the amount of cooling liquid can be reduced, thereby reducing the production cost of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and facilitating the batch production of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

[0050] It is also important to note that the term "or" as used herein is intended to mean an inclusive "or," such that "A or B" means any or all of the items listed with no options required to be selected with the item. Further, the terms "comprise," "comprising," "include," "including," and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense that may be implied by use of these terms in some instances. As used herein, the terms "program" and "software" are meant to include, but are not limited to, routines, applications, computer programs, computer code, computer instructions, and the like.

[0051] The foregoing description, for purposes of clarity, describes the above-described embodiments in connection with separate components. It is to be understood that the described components can be combined or separated into different components. It is to be understood that the described components can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. It is to be further understood that the described components can be implemented in a computer program product having a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium having instructions for carrying out the above-described embodiments.

Claims

1. A liquid-cooled battery pack, comprising: a box having a first accommodating cavity, and a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet communicating with the first accommodating cavity; a battery module arranged in the first accommodating cavity and supported on a bottom surface of the first accommodating cavity; wherein a height of the liquid outlet relative to the bottom surface is lower than a height of a top of the battery module relative to the bottom surface.

2. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The liquid-cooled battery pack further comprises a plurality of thermal insulation pads arranged between the battery module and an inner wall of the first accommodating cavity, two sides of each of the thermal insulation pads abutting against a side wall of the battery module and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity, and the thermal insulation pads on the same side of the battery module being arranged in a spaced manner along a height direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and a first flow channel being formed between adjacent two of the thermal insulation pads.

3. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The liquid-cooled battery further comprises a plurality of thermal insulation pads arranged between adjacent two of the battery cells or between the battery cells and the end plates, and the thermal insulation pads on the same side of the battery cells being arranged in a spaced manner along a height direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and a second flow channel being formed between adjacent two of the thermal insulation pads. The liquid-cooled battery pack further comprises a thermal insulation member arranged between the side wall of the battery module and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity, and the thermal insulation pads being arranged between the side wall of the battery module and a side wall of the thermal insulation member, and two sides of each of the thermal insulation pads abutting against the side wall of the battery module and the side wall of the thermal insulation member. The thermal insulation pads arranged between the battery module and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity extend along a length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack; and / or, The thermal insulation pads arranged between adjacent two of the battery cells or between the battery cells and the end plates extend along a width direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

4. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 2 or 3, wherein, The accommodating cavity comprises a first end and a second end distributed along a length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, the liquid outlet is located at the first end of the first accommodating cavity, and the thermal insulation pads arranged between the battery module and the inner wall of the first accommodating cavity extend from the first end to the second end.

5. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 4, wherein, The liquid-cooled battery pack further comprises a sealing member arranged in the first accommodating cavity, a height of the sealing member relative to the bottom surface is higher than the height of the liquid outlet relative to the bottom surface, and the sealing member is used to prevent leakage of the cooling liquid from the first accommodating cavity. The box comprises:

6. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 5, wherein, a bottom plate having a cooling cavity and an opening communicating with the cooling cavity, the liquid inlet communicating with the cooling cavity, and the opening being arranged on a side of the bottom plate relative to the first accommodating cavity; 7. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 1, wherein, a side plate circumferentially arranged on the bottom plate, and the bottom plate and the side plate forming the first accommodating cavity; 8. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 3, wherein, a cover plate arranged on the side plate. The opening is arranged corresponding to the bottom of the battery cell; and / or, The opening is arranged corresponding to the interval between adjacent two of the battery cells; and / or, ​ 9. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 8, wherein, ​ ​ The opening is correspondingly arranged with the interval between the electric core and the end plate.

10. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 8, wherein, The opening comprises a circular hole and / or a square hole.

11. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 10, wherein, The extension direction of the opening is perpendicular to the height direction and the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack.

12. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 8, wherein, The opening is multiple, and the multiple openings are arranged on the bottom plate.

13. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 12, wherein, The receiving cavity comprises a first end and a second end distributed along the length direction of the liquid-cooled battery pack, and the cross-sectional area of the opening close to the first end is greater than that of the opening close to the second end.

14. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 8, wherein, The bottom plate and the side plate are integrally formed.

15. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 8, wherein, The box further comprises a partition plate, which separates the space between the side plate and the bottom plate into the first receiving cavity and the second receiving cavity, and the second receiving cavity is used for accommodating electrical elements.

16. The liquid-cooled battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The height of the liquid inlet relative to the bottom surface is lower than that of the liquid outlet relative to the bottom surface.

17. A vehicle comprising the liquid-cooled battery pack according to any one of claims 1-16.

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