Modular Battery Cooling Pipe With Quick-Coupling Branch Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for electric vehicle batteries are costly, time-consuming to manufacture, and require dedicated designs for each vehicle model, making them inefficient and expensive to produce and assemble.
Innovation Solution
A modular cooling element with quick-coupling connections and a compact design, featuring a pipe with apertures and external connecting pipes made from polymeric or metal materials, allowing for easy assembly and adaptation to different vehicle types, reducing production costs and assembly time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dedicated cooling systems are designed for each vehicle model, then cooling performance is optimized for specific models, but manufacturing cost and production time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling element is designed with a standardized structure that can be universally applied across different vehicle models. The pipe with apertures and external connecting pipes creates a modular system that maintains effective cooling performance while reducing the need for model-specific customizations, thereby lowering manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is divided into separate modular components: a main pipe with apertures and detachable external connecting pipes. This segmentation allows for standardized mass production of the main pipe while enabling flexible configuration of connecting pipes for different vehicle models, balancing standardization benefits with model-specific adaptability.
2Reliability
If dedicated cooling systems are designed for each vehicle model, then cooling performance is optimized for specific models, but assembly time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The external connecting pipes are pre-assembled with the main pipe during mass production, creating a partially assembled modular unit. This preliminary action reduces the complexity of final assembly in the vehicle production line, as the cooling element arrives ready-to-install with critical connections already in place.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates flexible external connecting pipes that can adapt to different spatial configurations required by various vehicle models. This flexibility allows the same standardized cooling element to be quickly adapted to different vehicle architectures without requiring time-consuming custom fabrication or complex assembly procedures.
3Reliability
If complex connection systems with elastic deformation and corrugations are used, then fluid tightness is ensured, but manufacturing cost and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs simple, cost-effective connection methods for the external connecting pipes that prioritize ease of assembly and manufacturing over complex mechanical retention systems. The connection structure is designed to be straightforward and economical, accepting that the connecting pipes may require replacement rather than designing for permanent, highly complex retention mechanisms.
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 modular cooling element enables efficient and cost-effective cooling of electric vehicle batteries, allowing for quick installation and adaptation to various vehicle configurations, while maintaining a compact size and reducing manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling fluid flows through such pipes and reaches the component to be cooled
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling element for an electric component, in particular an electric battery of an electric or hybrid vehicle, includes: a pipe for a coolant, having two apertures at two ends of the pipe, and at least one secondary aperture. At least one external connecting pipe fluidically connects to the at least one secondary aperture. The external connecting pipe is connected to the secondary aperture through a quick-coupling.