Swing Arm Battery Cooling via Passive Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric vehicle designs face challenges with the dispersion of on-board batteries, leading to increased wire length, complex routing, and cooling issues due to heat generation when batteries are collectively disposed within the swing arm.
Innovation Solution
A design where the batteries are collectively housed within a swing arm with a wide case portion positioned near the pivot shaft, featuring a protruding portion for an air reservoir space and heat-releasing fins, allowing effective cooling through traveling wind without the need for additional cooling structures like electric fans.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If on-board batteries are disposed at dispersed locations on the vehicle body, then cooling is easier, but wire length increases and routing becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple dispersed batteries into a single battery box located on the swing arm. This consolidation reduces wire routing complexity by centralizing the battery connections while maintaining effective cooling through the swing arm's natural airflow design during vehicle operation.
2Device complexity
If on-board batteries are collectively disposed within the swing arm, then wire routing simplifies, but cooling becomes difficult due to heat generation
Solution Approach 1:
The swing arm itself serves as the cooling mechanism for the batteries. During vehicle operation, air flows through the swing arm structure, providing passive cooling to the batteries without requiring additional active cooling components. The swing arm's movement and design create natural airflow that dissipates heat from the battery box.
3Temperature
If additional cooling structures like electric fans are added to the swing arm, then cooling efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the swing arm's own movement and structure to generate cooling airflow rather than adding separate active cooling devices. The natural air flow created during vehicle operation is sufficient to cool the batteries, eliminating the need for electric fans or other complex active cooling systems.
4Temperature
If batteries are disposed at dispersed locations, then cooling is effective, but the number of stays for fixing batteries increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple batteries are combined into a single battery box unit that is mounted to the swing arm. This consolidation reduces the number of individual fixing stays required while maintaining proper spacing and airflow for effective cooling of all batteries within the box.
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 simplifies the wiring, reduces the complexity of the swing arm structure, enhances cooling efficiency, and eliminates the need for additional cooling components, while maintaining effective heat dissipation and reducing the vehicle's overall complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a protruding portion for forming an air reservoir space above the batteries is formed at a roof portion of the wide case portion
Implementation Method 2
causing traveling wind introduced from a front of the vehicle body to blow onto the protruding portion
Implementation Method 3
heat generated by the batteries to escape into the air reservoir space formed above the batteries
Data Source
AI summary
An electric vehicle has simple structure allowing effective cooling of on-board batteries collectively disposed within a swing arm. The electric vehicle includes a swing arm that houses an electric motor that is swingably mounted to a vehicle body and drives a drive wheel WR, and batteries of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. A wide case portion that houses the batteries is formed at a position toward a pivot shaft of the swing arm. Also, a protruding portion for forming an air reservoir space above the batteries is formed at a roof portion of the wide case portion. The batteries are disposed side by side in a front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The protruding portion, in a side view of the vehicle body, is substantially convex protruding upward across the batteries.