Movable Battery Cooling Plate for Gap-Free Charging Swaps

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing battery cooling systems suffer from air gaps between cooling plates and battery modules, reducing heat transfer efficiency and requiring careful handling to avoid impact damage during battery swaps.

Innovation Solution

An adjustable structure with a holding frame and movable cooling plates allows lateral movement of batteries and cooling plates relative to each other, ensuring good contact and clearance for safe swapping, using mechanisms like spindles and springs to manage air gaps and pressure.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If cooling plates are placed in contact with battery modules, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but air gaps still reduce cooling performance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling performanceVSAvoidheat transfer efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling plate is made movable relative to the battery module through a moving mechanism, allowing dynamic adjustment between contact mode (for cooling) and clearance mode (for swapping). This resolves the contradiction by enabling the system to achieve both good thermal contact and safe clearance at different operational stages.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

A moving mechanism acts as an intermediary between the cooling plate and battery module, controlling their relative positions. This intermediary enables precise control over the contact state, allowing the system to eliminate air gaps when cooling is needed while maintaining safety during swapping operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If batteries are inserted/extracted into/from charging facility, then continuous use is enabled, but impact damage risk increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontinuous use capabilityVSAvoidimpact damage risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The holding frame and cooling plate are made dynamically adjustable during the swapping process. The moving mechanism can create clearance between the cooling plate and battery module, allowing safe insertion and extraction without impact damage while maintaining continuous operational capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The moving mechanism provides beforehand cushioning by creating protective clearance before the battery insertion/extraction process begins. This prevents impact damage by ensuring the cooling plate does not rigidly constrain the battery during swapping operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

3Reliability

If cooling plates are fixed against battery modules, then cooling contact is improved, but clearance for swapping is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling contact qualityVSAvoidbattery swapping ease

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses dynamic positioning where the cooling plate can be fixed against the battery module for high-quality cooling contact, then moved away to create clearance for swapping operations. This dynamic behavior allows the system to achieve both excellent cooling contact and easy battery swapping.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The moving mechanism performs preliminary action by creating clearance before swapping operations begin, then establishes good cooling contact after swapping is complete. This sequencing of actions ensures both easy operation during swapping and reliable cooling during charging.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

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

Enhances heat transfer efficiency and facilitates safe battery swapping by eliminating air gaps and minimizing mechanical stress, allowing simultaneous charging and cooling with increased battery capacity.

Implementation Method 1

a moving mechanism for moving said cooling plate and said holding frame relative to one another in a direction parallel or anti-parallel to said plane normal vector and to said surface normal vector and for holding said cooling plate against said holding frame and/or against a battery module that is held by said holding frame

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMechanical Force: Mechanical Force

Implementation Method 2

Due to heat generation during charging, the ESU have to be cooled, e.g., by placing them in contact with cooling plates or the like

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal Conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Data Source

PatentUS12431554B2Adjustable structure and station for battery charging and cooling

Publication Date: 2025.09.30 VOLOCOPTER TECHNOLOGIES GMBH

AI summary

An adjustable structure for battery cooling having a holding frame (15) for holding at least one battery module, with the holding frame (15) defining a frame plane with a plane normal vector (N1). A cooling plate (16) for battery cooling is provided having at least one cooling surface (16a) with a surface normal vector (N2), and is arranged adjacent said holding frame (15). The surface normal vector (N2) extends parallel to said plane normal vector (N1). A moving mechanism (17, 18) for moving the cooling plate (16) and the holding frame (15) relative to one another in a direction parallel or anti-parallel to the plane normal vector (N1) and to the surface normal vector (N2) is provided and holds cooling plate (16) against the holding frame (15) and/or against a battery module that is held by the holding frame (15).