Two-Part Battery Tray Airflow Layout for EV Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery temperature maintenance methods in electric or hybrid vehicles are costly, complex, or inefficient, often requiring significant thickness, increased mass, or relying on vehicle speed for air cooling performance.
Innovation Solution
A battery tray design with upper and lower parts separated by air passages, connected via a duct with a flap and fan, allowing air intake from outside or HVAC system to circulate above and below the battery, using aluminum covers and optional fins for enhanced heat exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If plate cooling is used to maintain battery temperature, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but vehicle weight and structural thickness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses air as a cooling fluid instead of liquid coolant plates. Air passages are created within the battery tray structure itself, allowing air to flow through and cool the battery cells directly, eliminating the need for heavy liquid cooling plates while maintaining effective temperature control
Solution Approach 2:
The battery tray is designed with integrated thin air passage channels that are formed directly in the tray structure. These thin film-like air passages provide sufficient cooling surface area without requiring thick structural plates, thus reducing overall tray thickness and weight
2Temperature
If immersion cooling is used to maintain battery temperature, then cooling performance is improved, but vehicle mass and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from a separate external system (immersion cooling with external fluid circulation) and integrates it directly into the battery tray structure. Air passages are built into the tray itself, eliminating the need for external cooling systems and heavy dielectric fluids, thus reducing vehicle mass while maintaining cooling performance
Solution Approach 2:
The battery tray serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the battery cells and simultaneously acts as a heat exchanger through its integrated air passages. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate cooling systems, reducing overall system complexity and vehicle mass
3Ease of manufacture
If air cooling is used to maintain battery temperature, then cost is reduced, but cooling performance becomes limited and speed-dependent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from surface-level air cooling to three-dimensional internal air cooling by creating air passages throughout the battery tray volume. This allows air to contact battery cells from multiple directions and at multiple points simultaneously, dramatically improving cooling performance while maintaining the simplicity and low cost of air-based cooling
Solution Approach 2:
The battery tray is segmented into multiple sections with distributed air passages rather than a single external cooling system. This segmentation allows air to flow through multiple separate channels that contact different battery cell groups, improving overall cooling effectiveness while keeping each individual passage simple and inexpensive to manufacture
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
Ensures optimal battery temperature management with reduced weight and cost, improving cooling/heating efficiency by circulating air through the battery from both ends, with intelligent hatch and HVAC system control based on temperature sensors.
Implementation Method 1
a first air passage above the upper part, a second air passage between the upper and lower parts and a third air passage below the lower part
Implementation Method 2
the top lid and the bottom lid are made of aluminum. Aluminum is a good thermal conductor.
Implementation Method 3
said duct having a flap and a fan, said fan being positioned opposite said battery tray
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to an electric or hybrid motor vehicle comprising a battery tray (1) including a battery (2), said vehicle comprising a heating-ventilation-air conditioning system (3) and a duct (4) connecting said heating-ventilation-air conditioning system (3) and said battery tray (1), characterized in that said battery (2) comprises an upper part (2a) and a lower part (2b), the battery tray (1) comprising a first air passage above the upper part (2a), a second air passage between the upper part (2a) and the lower part (2b) and a third air passage below the lower part (2b), said duct (4) comprising a hatch (5) and a fan (6).