Vehicle Battery Cooling Apparatus with Low-Resistance Air Cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling apparatuses for vehicle-mountable battery packs experience significant pressure loss in air suction ducts, leading to increased power consumption by electric fans to achieve desirable airflow.
Innovation Solution
A cooling apparatus design featuring an air cleaner with an elongate filter member and air suction port configuration that minimizes fluid resistance, allowing for efficient airflow with reduced power consumption by the electric fan, and includes maintenance access points for the battery pack.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a pipe-shaped air suction duct is used to clean outside air before introducing it to the battery case, then foreign matter such as dust is prevented from invading the battery case, but significant pressure loss occurs at the air suction duct
Solution Approach 1:
The air cleaner is divided into a filter member and a dirty side chamber that are separable from each other. The filter member can be independently removed and replaced without disassembling the entire air cleaner assembly, facilitating easy maintenance and reducing overall system resistance by optimizing the flow path around the filter element.
Solution Approach 2:
The air cleaner assembly is positioned at the air suction port with the filter member extending in the airflow direction. This spatial arrangement creates a streamlined flow path that reduces turbulence and pressure loss while maintaining effective filtration coverage across the entire air intake area.
2Productivity
If an electric fan with large air-blowing capacity is employed to achieve desirable airflow through the air suction duct, then the cooling air flow rate to the battery case is sufficient, but power consumption at the electric fan increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system optimizes the balance between fan blowing capacity and air flow resistance by reducing the pressure loss in the air suction duct and cleaner assembly. This parameter optimization allows the use of a smaller electric fan that consumes less power while still achieving the required cooling air flow rate to the battery case.
3Loss of energy
If the filter member is designed with large filtration area to reduce fluid resistance, then desirable airflow is achieved, but the service life of the filter member decreases due to faster clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The filter member is designed as a separate, replaceable component that can be independently removed from the air cleaner assembly. This segmentation allows for easy replacement of the filter member when it becomes clogged, extending the overall system service life by enabling quick maintenance without replacing the entire air cleaner or disassembling complex structures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enables a significant flow rate of cooling air with reduced fluid resistance, allowing the electric fan to operate with small power consumption, effectively cooling battery modules while extending the service life of the filter member.
Implementation Method 1
outside air is suctioned inside the battery case, using an electric fan
Implementation Method 2
outside air is cleaned with an air cleaner to prevent foreign matter such as dust from invading the battery case
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack 10 has a built-in cooling fan to suction outside air through an air cleaner 16 and an air suction port. The battery pack 10 has a combination of the air suction port and a service plug 25 and a combination of the air cleaner 16 and a 12V terminal set 23 arranged at an upside. The air suction port and the service plug 25 are arrayed along a longer side of the battery pack 10, the air cleaner 16, a filter member in the air cleaner 16, and the 12V terminal set 23 being arrayed parallel thereto.