EV Battery and Onboard Charger Cooling with a Shared Air Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric vehicles require significant space and increased assembly costs due to the need for multiple cooling fans to cool heat-emitting components, which is particularly challenging in compact vehicles like two-wheeled electric vehicles.
Innovation Solution
The electric vehicle design incorporates a single cooling fan that generates a flow of air passing through an air flow path between the onboard charger and the battery casing, effectively cooling both components while saving space and reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling fan is attached to each heat-emitting component, then each component can be cooled effectively, but the total space required increases and assembly costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple cooling functions into a single cooling fan. The first cooling fan is positioned to simultaneously cool the battery and the controller by directing airflow through both components. This merging of cooling functions reduces the total number of cooling fans from multiple to one, thereby reducing the space required and lowering assembly costs while maintaining effective cooling of all heat-emitting components.
Solution Approach 2:
The single cooling fan is designed with multi-functionality to perform multiple cooling tasks. It serves as a universal cooling device that can cool different components (battery and controller) through strategic positioning and airflow direction. This universal cooling approach eliminates the need for dedicated cooling fans for each component, resolving the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and space requirements.
2Temperature
If a cooling fan is attached to each heat-emitting component, then each component can be cooled effectively, but assembly man-hours and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple cooling functions into a single cooling fan assembly, reducing the number of parts that need to be purchased, stored, and installed. This consolidation directly reduces assembly man-hours and material costs while maintaining the cooling effectiveness needed for all heat-emitting components.
3Temperature
If multiple cooling fans are used, then each component can be cooled independently, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces device complexity by merging multiple cooling fan components into a single cooling fan. This simplification maintains the ability to cool all necessary components (battery and controller) through strategic airflow management, thereby reducing the number of parts and simplifying the overall system architecture.
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 solution allows for efficient cooling of both the onboard charger and the battery using a single cooling fan, thereby reducing space requirements and assembly costs, particularly beneficial in compact electric vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling fan to generate a flow of air passing through the air flow path between the onboard charger and the outer surface of the battery casing
Data Source
AI summary
An electric vehicle includes a wheel, an electric motor to drive the wheel, a battery to supply electric power to the electric motor, the battery including battery cells and a battery casing to house the battery cells, an onboard charger to charge the battery, the onboard charger being opposed to and spaced apart from an outer surface of the battery casing so that an air flow path exists between the onboard charger and the outer surface of the battery casing, and a cooling fan to generate a flow of air passing through the air flow path between the onboard charger and the battery casing.