Modular Battery Pack with Heat Pipe Cooling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery architectures for vehicles and other applications face challenges in providing sufficient energy with long lifespan, while minimizing mass and size, and ensuring functionality across varying temperature and humidity conditions, with existing designs like trapezoidal-shaped dissipation fins limiting their adaptability.
Innovation Solution
A modular battery pack design featuring a unitary module with battery cells connected in series and parallel, incorporating a heat collecting plate, heat pipe, and dissipating fins for efficient cooling, along with mechanical and electrical connection means, allowing for easy arrangement and cost-effective temperature distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed architecture with trapezoidal-shaped dissipation fins is used, then the cooling function is provided, but the adaptability to different applications is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple modular units, each containing a subset of battery cells and a shared cooling device. This segmentation allows different numbers of modules to be combined depending on application requirements, providing adaptability while keeping each module's internal structure simple and standardized.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling device is designed with a universal structure that can serve multiple battery cells simultaneously. The dissipation fins and heat pipes are configured to cool multiple cells in series or parallel arrangements, making the same cooling component adaptable to different application scenarios without requiring application-specific customization.
2Reliability
If multiple battery cells are cooled by individual cooling devices, then each cell is adequately cooled, but the cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple battery cells share a single cooling device within each module. The cooling device incorporates heat pipes and dissipation fins that are thermally coupled to multiple cells simultaneously, combining what would otherwise be separate cooling systems into one integrated unit, thereby reducing overall complexity and component count.
Solution Approach 2:
Heat pipes serve as intermediary thermal conduction elements between the battery cells and the dissipation fins. The heat pipes collect heat from multiple cells and transport it to the dissipation fins for atmospheric cooling, acting as a mediator that enables one cooling device to effectively serve multiple cells without requiring direct thermal contact with each cell.
3Adaptability or versatility
If battery cells are arranged without modular structure, then assembly is straightforward, but adaptability to different configurations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is segmented into standardized modular units that can be assembled in series or parallel configurations. Each module contains a defined set of battery cells and cooling components, allowing the overall system to be scaled and configured for different applications by simply adding or removing complete modules, thus maintaining assembly simplicity while achieving configuration flexibility.
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 design enables flexible configuration, reduced costs, uniform temperature distribution, and enhanced energy efficiency, accommodating various applications with improved autonomy and reduced battery changes.
Implementation Method 1
a heat pipe in contact with the heat collecting plate
Implementation Method 2
a heat pipe in contact with the heat collecting plate
Implementation Method 3
a dissipation element comprising fins for dissipating the calories in the atmosphere
Implementation Method 4
a dissipation element comprising fins for dissipating the calories in the atmosphere
Implementation Method 5
a set of battery cells
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a unitary module for a battery pack, said module including a set of battery cells and at least one cooling device, the cooling device comprising: a heat-collecting plate (2) making contact with an external surface of at least one battery cell (4); a heat pipe (1) making contact with the heat-collecting plate (2); and an element (3) for dissipating heat, which is installed at one end of the heat pipe (1). The invention also relates to a battery pack comprising a plurality of unitary modules according to the invention, said modules being connected in series and/or in parallel.