Sealed Battery Pack Airflow for Debris-Resistant Vehicle Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric work vehicles face challenges in maintaining battery temperature due to airborne debris like glass clippings or straws, which clog cooling air passages and hinder effective cooling.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design with a tightly housed battery unit and circulation fan within a single casing, utilizing an air guide to direct cooling air for uniform temperature distribution, preventing ambient air entry and ensuring efficient battery module cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling air passage is provided to allow ambient air to cool the battery, then the battery cooling effect is improved, but the cooling passage is easily choked up with foreign matters like glass clippings or straws
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into two separate circulation paths: one for cooling the battery unit and another for cooling the control unit. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each cooling path, enabling the battery cooling path to be sealed against foreign matters while maintaining effective cooling through the circulation fan and air guide structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful element (foreign matters like glass clippings and straws) is excluded from the battery cooling passage by providing a tightly closed casing with sealed openings. The cooling air is circulated within the sealed casing rather than being drawn from the ambient environment, preventing debris from entering and choking the cooling passages.
2Reliability
If the casing is tightly closed to prevent foreign matter entry, then the reliability is improved, but the uniform temperature distribution within the casing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
An air guide structure acts as an intermediary element within the sealed casing to distribute cooling air uniformly. The air guide includes a guide plate with multiple air outlets positioned to direct cooling air toward different regions of the battery unit, ensuring uniform temperature distribution even though the casing is tightly closed and cooling air is recirculated internally.
3Device complexity
If the battery unit and circulation fan are housed in a single casing, then the structure is simplified, but foreign matters can enter through air circulation caused by the circulation fan
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful element (foreign matters) is extracted from the internal circulation environment by sealing the casing. The circulation fan draws cooling air from within the sealed casing rather than from the ambient environment, preventing glass clippings and straws from entering through the air circulation system while maintaining the simplified single-casing structure.
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 design maintains uniform battery temperature, preventing debris entry and ensuring efficient battery performance even in environments with airborne debris, enhancing the battery's operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a circulation fan (6B) for generating cooling air
Implementation Method 2
an air guide (50) for orienting the cooling air generated by the circulation fan (6B)
Implementation Method 3
The cooling air generated by the circulation fan passes through a battery unit
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
A battery pack (6) for an electric work vehicle includes a battery unit (6A), a casing (60) for tightly housing the battery unit (6A), a circulation fan (6B) mounted in an inner space of the casing (60), and an air guide (50) provided in the casing (60) to direct cooling air produced by the circulation fan (6B) to the battery unit (6A).