Battery Unit Thermal Control via Variable Heat Exchange Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
When multiple battery units are installed in a vehicle, temperature variations occur due to uneven heat exchange with a heat exchange medium, leading to inefficiencies and potential degradation.
Innovation Solution
A battery unit temperature management device with changing mechanisms and a control device that adjusts heat transfer capacities between battery units and a heat exchange medium to minimize temperature differences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If battery units are disposed side by side in the flow direction of a single flow channel, then the device complexity is reduced, but temperature variations among battery units increase
Solution Approach 1:
The single flow channel is divided into multiple flow channels, with each battery unit having its own dedicated flow channel. This segmentation allows independent temperature control for each battery unit, eliminating the temperature variations that occur when multiple battery units share a single flow channel.
Solution Approach 2:
Each battery unit is equipped with its own flow channel, enabling localized temperature management. The heat exchange medium can be independently controlled for each battery unit, allowing different flow rates and temperatures to be applied to different locations based on their specific thermal requirements.
2Device complexity
If a heater or cooler is disposed only in the vicinity of a specific battery unit, then the device complexity is reduced, but temperature uniformity among battery units deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchange medium serves multiple functions: it can be heated by a common heater and distributed to multiple battery units through the flow channels, or it can be cooled by a common cooler. This multi-functional approach allows a single heating/cooling device to manage temperature across all battery units uniformly.
Solution Approach 2:
Temperature sensors are installed in each flow channel to detect the temperature of the heat exchange medium. The control device uses this feedback information to adjust the flow rates and heating/cooling parameters, ensuring uniform temperature distribution among all battery units.
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 device effectively suppresses temperature variations among battery units, ensuring efficient heat exchange and reducing degradation risks.
Implementation Method 1
a flow channel through which a heat exchange medium circulates so as to pass through the battery units
Implementation Method 2
each of the battery units exchanges heat with the heat exchange medium
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
[Task] To suppress variations in temperatures of a plurality of battery units. [Solution] A battery unit temperature management device 1 includes a plurality of battery units 10, a flow channel 30 through which a heat exchange medium W circulates so as to pass through the battery units 10, a plurality of changing mechanisms 50 provided to correspond to the battery units 10 to make changes of heat transfer capacities between the battery units 10 and the heat exchange medium W, and a control device 60 that controls, for each of the battery units 10, the change of the heat transfer capacity, by using each of the changing mechanisms 50 to reduce the temperature differences among the battery units 10.