Battery Pack Cooling Part With Melt-Triggered Coolant Injection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules and packs face challenges in quickly and efficiently injecting coolant to ignited cells to prevent thermal runaway, particularly when inclined or when coolant housing is not uniformly distributed, leading to potential fire or explosion risks.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design incorporating a coolant housing member with an elastic member that expands to cover the inner space, a sealing member that melts to allow coolant injection, and a partition wall to divide the coolant into zones, ensuring rapid coolant distribution to battery cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If coolant is stored in a coolant housing member and supplied through a through hole, then the battery cell can be cooled, but the pressure of the coolant gradually decreases over time and the injection rate slows down
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic member is pre-expanded to store coolant under pressure before an ignition event occurs. When the sealing member melts due to heat, the pre-stored elastic energy of the expanded member provides immediate high-pressure coolant injection, ensuring rapid cooling response without pressure degradation over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the coolant storage function from a traditional rigid coolant housing member and relocates it to an expandable elastic member. This allows the coolant to be stored in a flexible, pressure-ready state that can rapidly discharge when needed, separating the storage function from the structural housing.
2Device complexity
If the coolant housing member is formed along the housing direction of the battery cell stack, then it can be integrated into the structure, but the height is less than the width and coolant pressure becomes further lower
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameters of the coolant storage system by using an elastic member that can expand and contract. This allows the system to maintain high coolant pressure through elastic restoration force rather than relying on gravitational height, enabling effective cooling pressure within the constrained dimensions of the battery pack structure.
3Ease of operation
If the coolant housing member is located only in an upper part of the battery cell stack, then coolant can be supplied by gravity, but there is a limitation that it cannot be provided in a lower part
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using gravity to drive coolant flow from upper to lower positions, the patent inverts the approach by using the elastic restoration force of the contracting member to propel coolant upward and in any direction needed. This allows coolant housing members to be positioned flexibly throughout the battery pack structure, including lower positions, without being constrained by gravitational orientation.
4Speed
If an elastic member is used to house coolant and expand to cover the inner space, then rapid coolant injection is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into the elastic member: it serves as both the structural housing for coolant storage and the active injection mechanism through its expansion and contraction properties. The sealing member also combines the functions of closure and ignition detection (through heat-responsive melting), reducing the need for separate sensors and control systems.
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 quick cooling of ignited cells, suppresses thermal runaway, and maintains compact module/pack size by ensuring uniform coolant distribution, even in non-vertical orientations.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing member that seals at least one through hole formed in the coolant housing member and is meltable by an increase in the temperature of the battery cell
Implementation Method 2
an elastic member disposed in the inner space of the coolant housing member... and the elastic member expands as the coolant is housed
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes a battery cell stack, a frame, a cooling part, an elastic member, and a sealing member. The frame houses the battery cell stack. The cooling part is disposed on the battery cell stack and includes a coolant housing member having an upper plate and a lower plate. The elastic member is disposed in the inner space of the coolant housing member, and the sealing member seals at least one through hole formed in the coolant housing member and is meltable by an increase in the temperature of the battery cell. A coolant is housed inside the elastic member, and the elastic member expands as the coolant is housed.