Battery Pack Cell Stack Housing With Side-Wall Cooling Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery pack cooling methods using integral water-cooling plates are inefficient, especially during fast charging, and reducing space between cell stacks to improve cooling leads to decreased energy density.
Innovation Solution
The battery pack integrates cooling channels into the side walls of cell stacks, eliminating the need for a separate cooling plate between stacks, allowing for efficient heat dissipation of side surfaces while minimizing stack distance and enhancing space utilization and energy density.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling plate is disposed between the cell stacks, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but the space utilization of the battery pack is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cooling function with the cell stack structure by integrating cooling channels directly into the side walls of the cell stacks. This eliminates the need for separate cooling plates between stacks, thereby improving space utilization while maintaining effective cooling. The cooling channels are formed as integral parts of the cell stack housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from top-bottom cooling (single dimension) to side-wall cooling (another dimension). By forming cooling channels on the side walls of cell stacks, the system utilizes the lateral dimension for heat dissipation, enabling more efficient cooling of cell side surfaces without occupying vertical space between stacks.
2Device complexity
If a single cooling plate is used at the top or bottom of the battery pack, then the device complexity is reduced, but the cooling efficiency is insufficient for fast charging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooling function by providing cooling channels on multiple cell stacks rather than using a single centralized cooling plate. Each cell stack with cooling channels independently cools its adjacent cells, distributing the cooling function across multiple locations to improve overall cooling efficiency without significantly increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by positioning cooling channels specifically on cell stacks that require cooling, rather than uniformly cooling all areas. The cooling channels are strategically located to cool cell side surfaces where heat generation is most significant during fast charging, providing targeted thermal management.
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
This design improves cooling efficiency and space utilization by directly dissipating heat from both the cell stack with the cooling channel and adjacent stacks, increasing the energy density of the battery pack.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling channel, and an output electrode connected to a tab of the cell array is disposed on the first end cover
Implementation Method 2
The side wall where the cooling channel is located is set opposite to a side surface in the thickness direction of various cells, so that the cooling channel is able to cool each cell
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack including a tray and cell stacks is provided. Each of the cell stacks includes a housing and a cell array. The housing includes a body, a first end cover and a second end cover. The body includes a top wall, a bottom wall, a first side wall and a second side wall. The cell array is accommodated in the housing. A cooling channel is formed on at least one of the first side wall and the second side wall, and an output electrode connected to a tab of the cell array is disposed on the first end cover. All the output electrodes are disposed in a coplanar arrangement.