JP2013110021A - Battery temperature controlling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery temperature controlling device capable of equalizing a temperature of a battery housed in a battery case.SOLUTION: A battery temperature controlling device 10 comprises: a first duct 34 for flowing temperature-controlled wind fed from a ventilation mechanism 14 to an upstream part 24 of a battery case 12A; a discharge duct 18 for discharging the temperature-controlled wind flown to the upstream part 24 of the battery case 12A from the first duct 34 and heat-exchanged with the battery 20 from a downstream part 26 of the battery case 12A; and a second duct 36 for flowing the temperature-controlled wind before it is heat-exchanged with the battery into the downstream part 26 of the battery case 12A.

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery temperature control device, and more particularly to a battery temperature control device including a blower mechanism for sending temperature control air to a battery case in which a battery is stored.

  The power supply device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes a power storage device, a battery, a case that stores the power storage device and the battery, and a cooling device that cools the power storage device and the battery. In this power supply device, a cooling air passage for passing the cold air taken in from the cooling fan is provided in the case, and the power storage device and the battery are sequentially arranged along the cooling air passage, thereby The power storage device and the battery are cooled using the device.

JP 2007-311290 A

  However, in such a battery temperature control device, the cooling air flows along the cooling air passage, but the cooling air is warmed by heat exchange with the device arranged on the upstream side, and the downstream side It becomes difficult to cool the device arranged in the. For this reason, there is a possibility that the temperature difference in each apparatus becomes large.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to control the temperature of the battery that can equalize the temperature of the batteries stored in the battery case. To provide an apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a battery temperature control apparatus including a battery case in which a battery is accommodated and a blower mechanism for sending temperature-controlled air to the battery case. A first flow path through which the temperature-controlled air sent from the blower mechanism flows into the upstream part of the battery case located on the one end side, and the first flow path from the first flow path to the upstream part of the battery case, A discharge passage for discharging the temperature-controlled air after heat exchange with the battery housed in the battery case from a downstream portion of the battery case located on the second end side of the battery; and And a second flow path for flowing the temperature-controlled air before heat exchange into the downstream portion of the battery case.

  According to this, the temperature-controlled air before heat exchange with the battery flows from the second channel into the downstream portion of the battery case that is difficult to be temperature-controlled by the temperature-controlled air from the first channel. Similarly to the first end side, the temperature of the second end side of the battery can be adjusted. Therefore, the temperature of the batteries stored in the battery case can be equalized.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the flow rate of the temperature-controlled air is less in the second flow path than in the first flow path. According to this, it is possible to efficiently regulate the temperature of the second end portion of the battery by incorporating the temperature-controlled air from the second channel without greatly reducing the temperature-controlled air from the first channel. it can.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the single air blower fan sends out the temperature-controlled air to both the first flow path and the second flow path. Become. According to this, by using a common blower fan, it is possible to send out temperature-controlled air to both the first flow path and the second flow path by a single blower fan, thereby reducing the size and power consumption of the device. Can be achieved.

  According to the present invention, the temperature of the batteries stored in the battery case can be equalized.

The block diagram of the battery temperature control apparatus in 1st Embodiment. (A) And (b) is a perspective view of the battery in 1st Embodiment. The top view of the battery temperature control apparatus in 1st Embodiment. The top view of the battery temperature control apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. The top view of the battery temperature control apparatus in 3rd Embodiment. The top view of the battery temperature control apparatus in another embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the battery temperature control device 10 includes a battery case 12 that houses a plurality of batteries 20, a blower mechanism 14 that sends out temperature-controlled air, and an inflow that flows the supplied temperature-controlled air into the battery case 12. A path 16 and a discharge duct 18 for discharging the temperature-controlled air from the battery case 12 are provided. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the battery 20 in the present embodiment employs a square secondary battery. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the battery temperature control apparatus 10 in this embodiment is provided with several battery case 12A, 12B, and the inflow path 16, discharge | emission with respect to each of several battery case 12A, 12B. A duct 18 is in communication. In particular, the inflow channel 16 forms two channels for each of the plurality of battery cases 12A and 12B.

  Next, the battery temperature control apparatus 10 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the battery case 12A will be described on behalf of a plurality of battery cases.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the battery case 12A in the present embodiment has a rectangular shape as viewed from above, and a plurality of batteries 20 are arranged in parallel along the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A. The battery case 12A includes a storage portion 22 that stores a plurality of batteries 20, an upstream portion 24 that is positioned on the first end portion 20A side of the battery 20, and a downstream portion 26 that is provided on the second end portion 20B side of the battery 20. Have Temperature control air from the blower mechanism 14 flows into the upstream part 24, and temperature control air from the upstream part 24 flows into the downstream part 26 via the storage part 22.

  A plurality of batteries 20 are arranged in the storage unit 22 along the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A. Among the plurality of batteries 20, the battery 20 disposed closest to the inner side 30 of the partition wall 29 of the battery case 12 </ b> A communicates the upstream portion 24 and the downstream portion 26 with the partition wall 29 of the battery case 12 </ b> A. It arrange | positions so that the gap | interval 28 may be formed. The plurality of batteries 20 are connected by spacers (not shown) so that gaps 28 that connect the upstream portion 24 and the downstream portion 26 are formed between the adjacent batteries 20. The upstream portion 24 is a space extending in the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12 </ b> A and communicates with the storage portion 22 and the first duct 34. The downstream part 26 is a space extending in the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12 </ b> A and communicates with the storage part 22, the second duct 36 and the discharge duct 18.

  The air blowing mechanism 14 is composed of one (single) air blowing fan that sends out temperature-controlled air to the inflow path 16 (connection duct 32). Further, the air blowing mechanism 14 is a mechanism having both a heating function and a cooling function.

  The inflow channel 16 includes a connection duct 32, a first duct 34, and a second duct 36. The connection duct 32 communicates with a first duct 34 and a second duct 36 provided in each of the plurality of battery cases 12A and 12B, and flows the temperature-controlled air from the blower mechanism 14.

  The first duct 34 communicates with the upstream portion 24 at one end portion with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A so that the temperature-controlled air flows into the upstream portion 24 from the juxtaposed direction of the batteries 20. The temperature-controlled air sent out from the air flows into the upstream portion 24. That is, the temperature-controlled air flowing from the first duct 34 to the downstream portion 26 via the storage unit 22 is temperature-controlled air after heat exchange with the battery 20.

  The second duct 36 communicates with the downstream portion 26 at one end with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12 </ b> A so that the temperature-controlled air flows into the downstream portion 26 from the juxtaposed direction of the batteries 20. The temperature-controlled air sent out from the air flows into the downstream portion 26. That is, the temperature-controlled air flowing into the downstream portion 26 from the second duct 36 is temperature-controlled air before heat exchange with the battery 20.

  Each of the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 has the same distance (length) from the connection duct 32 to the battery case 12A. In addition, each of the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 has an equal cross-sectional area perpendicular to the flow path along the flow path of the temperature-controlled air, but the second duct 36 has the same structure as the first duct 34. In comparison, its cross-sectional area is small. For this reason, the second duct 36 has a lower flow rate of the temperature-controlled air than the first duct 34, and the inflow speed of the temperature-controlled air becomes faster.

In the present embodiment, the first duct 34 corresponds to a “first flow path”, the discharge duct 18 corresponds to a “discharge flow path”, and the second duct 36 corresponds to a “second flow path”.
(Operation of the first embodiment)
Here, the effect | action of the battery temperature control apparatus 10 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, the air blowing mechanism 14 sends out the temperature-controlled air to the connecting duct 32. The temperature-controlled air sent out to the connection duct 32 flows into the upstream portion 24 in each of the battery cases 12A and 12B via the first duct 34. The temperature-controlled air flowing into the upstream portion 24 flows in the direction in which the batteries are arranged side by side, and flows into the gap 28 in the storage portion 22. The temperature-controlled air that has flowed into the storage portion 22 passes through the gap 28 of the battery 20, flows into the downstream portion 26, and is discharged to the discharge duct 18.

  In this way, the temperature-controlled air sent out by the air blowing mechanism 14 passes through the gap 28 of the battery 20 via the upstream portion 24, thereby adjusting the temperature of the battery 20. In particular, the temperature-controlled air flowing into the storage unit 22 via the first duct 34 and the upstream portion 24 changes the temperature of the temperature-controlled air by adjusting the temperature of the battery 20, and thus the first end 20 </ b> A of the battery 20. The temperature of the second end 20B side of the battery 20 is less likely to be adjusted than the side. For this reason, the temperature adjustment air via the upstream portion 24 can be adjusted with emphasis on the first end portion 20 </ b> A side of the battery 20.

  On the other hand, the temperature-controlled air blown to the connection duct 32 flows into the downstream portions 26 in the battery cases 12A and 12B via the second duct 36. The temperature-controlled air from the second duct 36 flows directly into the downstream portion 26 before the temperature of the battery 20 is adjusted without passing through the upstream portion 24 and the storage portion 22. The temperature-controlled air flowing into the downstream portion 26 flows in the direction in which the batteries 20 are arranged side by side and is discharged to the discharge duct 18.

  As described above, the temperature-controlled air sent out by the blower mechanism 14 passes through the downstream portion 26 via the second duct 36, thereby adjusting the temperature of the second end 20 </ b> B side of the battery 20. In particular, since the temperature-controlled air flowing into the downstream portion 26 via the second duct 36 flows before the battery 20 in the storage unit 22 is temperature-controlled, the temperature-controlled air greatly changes from the temperature of the temperature-controlled air sent out from the blower mechanism 14. do not do. For this reason, the temperature-controlled air having a temperature substantially equal to the temperature of the temperature-controlled air supplied to the first end 20 </ b> A side of the battery 20 can be supplied to the second end 20 </ b> B side of the battery 20.

  The temperature-controlled air flowing into the downstream portion 26 via the second duct 36 guides the temperature-controlled air flowing into the downstream portion 26 via the first duct 34, the upstream portion 24 and the storage portion 22 to the discharge duct 18. It will also be a thing.

  Conventionally, in the configuration not including the second duct 36, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), only the temperature-controlled air Y1 from the first duct flows into the battery 20, and the second end 20B of the battery 20 is obtained. The temperature of the side is less likely to be adjusted than that of the first end 20A side, and the temperature difference is large.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, by including the second duct 36, as shown in FIG. 2A, not only the temperature control air Y1 from the first duct 34 but also the temperature from the second duct 36. The air conditioning X1 flows in, and the temperature of the second end 20B side of the battery 20 can be controlled more than in the past.

(Effect of 1st Embodiment)
As described above in detail, the present embodiment has the following effects.
(1) The second duct 36 communicates with the downstream portion 26 of the battery case 12A, which is difficult to be controlled by the temperature control air from the first duct 34, separately from the first duct 34, and the temperature of the battery 20 is not adjusted. The temperature-controlled air flows from the second duct 36 into the downstream portion 26 of the battery case 12A. As a result, a temperature-controlled air having a temperature substantially equal to the temperature of the temperature-controlled air supplied to the first end 20 </ b> A side of the battery 20 can be supplied to the second end 20 </ b> B side of the battery 20. Therefore, the temperature of the batteries stored in the battery case 12A can be equalized.

  (2) The second duct 36 has a lower temperature-controlled air flow rate than the first duct 34. According to this, the temperature of the battery 20 can be efficiently controlled by incorporating the temperature-controlled air from the second duct 36 without greatly reducing the temperature-controlled air from the first duct 34.

  (3) The blower mechanism 14 has a single blower fan that sends out temperature-controlled air to both the first duct 34 and the second duct 36. According to this, by using a common blower fan, it is possible to send out the temperature-controlled air to both the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 by a single blower fan, thereby reducing the size and power consumption of the device. Can be achieved.

  (4) The first duct 34 and the second duct 36 allow the temperature-controlled air from the first duct 34 and the temperature-controlled air from the second duct 36 to flow into the battery case 12A from the direction in which the batteries 20 are juxtaposed. The battery case 12A communicates with the battery case 12A. For this reason, it is possible to make the inflows of the temperature-controlled air difficult to interfere with each other.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the second embodiment will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.
In the first embodiment, the temperature-controlled air from one blower fan is caused to flow into both the first duct 34 and the second duct 36. In contrast, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, in the battery temperature adjustment device 100, the temperature adjustment air from the first blower fan 114 </ b> A is transferred to the first duct 34 and the temperature adjustment from the second blower fan 114 </ b> B. Wind is caused to flow into the second duct 36.

  Specifically, the blower mechanism 114 includes two blower fans 114A and 114B. The inflow path 116 includes a first connection duct 132A, a second connection duct 132B, a first duct 34, and a second duct 36.

  The first blower fan 114A communicates with the first connecting duct 132A. The first connecting duct 132 </ b> A communicates with the first duct 34. The second blower fan 114B communicates with the second connection duct 132B. The second connection duct 132 </ b> B communicates with the second duct 36. In the present embodiment, the first connection duct 132A communicates with a first duct corresponding to each of a plurality of battery cases other than the battery case 12A, and the second connection duct 132B includes a plurality of batteries other than the battery case 12A. It communicates with the second duct corresponding to each of the cases.

  Further, since the flow rate of the second duct 36 is smaller than that of the first duct 34, the second blower fan 114 </ b> B that allows the temperature-controlled air to flow into the second connection duct 132 </ b> B and the second duct 36 has the first connection duct 132 </ b> A and the second duct 36 </ b> B. A fan having a smaller flow rate than the first blower fan 114 </ b> A that causes the temperature-controlled air to flow into the one duct 34 is used.

  With this configuration, the temperature-controlled air from the first blower fan 114A flows into the upstream portion 24 via the first connection duct 132A and the first duct 34. On the other hand, the temperature-controlled air from the second blower fan 114B flows into the downstream portion 26 via the second connection duct 132B and the second duct 36.

  For this reason, it becomes easy to adjust the flow rate of the temperature-controlled air to the first duct 34 and the flow rate of the temperature-controlled air to the second duct 36, and the temperature of the batteries 20 arranged in the battery case 12A is equalized. It can be made easy to plan.

(Third embodiment)
Next, the third embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment and the second embodiment.
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the first duct 34 is communicated with the upstream portion 24 so that the temperature-controlled air flows into the upstream portion 24 from the juxtaposed direction of the batteries 20. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, in the battery temperature adjustment device 200, upstream of the upstream side 24 so that the temperature-controlled air flows into the upstream part 24 from the direction from the upstream part 24 to the downstream part 26. The first duct 234 was communicated with the portion 24.

  Specifically, the blower mechanism 214 includes a first blower fan 214A and left and right second blower fans 214B and 214C. The inflow path 216 includes a first duct 234 and left and right second ducts 236A and 236B.

  The first blower fan 214A communicates with the first duct 234. The second blower fan 214B communicates with the second duct 236A, and the second blower fan 214C communicates with the second duct 236B.

  The first duct 234 communicates with the upstream portion 24 so that the temperature-controlled air flows into the upstream portion 24 from the direction from the upstream portion 24 toward the downstream portion 26 at the center with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A. Each of the second ducts 236 </ b> A and 236 </ b> B communicates with the downstream portion 26 at both end portions with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12 </ b> A so that the temperature-controlled air flows into the downstream portion 26 from the juxtaposed direction of the batteries 20. The discharge duct 218 communicates with the downstream portion 26 of the battery case 12A so that the temperature-controlled air in the downstream portion 26 is discharged from the upstream portion 24 toward the downstream portion 26 in the center with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A. .

  With this configuration, the temperature-controlled air from the first blower fan 214A flows into the upstream portion 24 of the battery case 12A from the parallel arrangement direction of the batteries 20 via the first duct 234. Since the first duct 234 communicates with the upstream portion 24 at the center with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A, it is disposed at a position farthest from the first duct 234 as compared with the first and second embodiments. The distance between the battery and the first duct 234 is shortened, and the temperature difference between the temperature-controlled air supplied to each battery 20 can be reduced.

  On the other hand, the temperature-controlled air from the second blower fans 214B and 214C flows into the downstream portion 26 from both end portions in the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A through the second ducts 236A and 236B. Since the second ducts 236A and 236B communicate with the downstream portion 26 at both ends with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A, they are farthest from the second ducts 236A and 236B as compared to the first and second embodiments. Therefore, the distance between the batteries arranged at the positions and the second ducts 236A and 236B is shortened, and the temperature difference of the temperature-controlled air supplied to each battery 20 can be reduced. Furthermore, since the discharge duct 218 communicates with the downstream portion 26 at the center with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A, it is easy to discharge the temperature-controlled air from the discharge duct 218.

  Thus, by providing the first duct 234 in the center with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A, the temperature difference of the temperature-controlled air supplied from the first duct 234 to each battery 20 can be reduced.

  Further, by providing the second ducts 236A and 236B at both ends of the battery case 12A with respect to the longitudinal direction X, the temperature difference between the temperature-controlled air supplied to the batteries 20 from the second ducts 236A and 236B can be reduced. it can.

  Furthermore, by providing the discharge duct 218 in the center with respect to the longitudinal direction X of the battery case 12A, the temperature-controlled air can be smoothly discharged by the inflow of the temperature-controlled air from the second ducts 236A, 236B.

In addition, the said embodiment can be embodied in another embodiment (another example) as follows.
In the first embodiment, the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 may have different lengths, and the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 may have the same cross-sectional area. Further, the cross-sectional area of the first duct 34 may not be uniform, and a diaphragm may be formed. Similarly, the cross-sectional area of the second duct 36 may not be uniform, and a diaphragm may be formed. The flow rates of the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 may be the same.

  In the first embodiment, a plurality of first ducts may be communicated with the upstream portion 24 of one battery case so that temperature-controlled air from the air blowing mechanism flows into the upstream portion 24 from a plurality of locations. Good. Further, a plurality of second ducts may be communicated with the downstream portion 26 of one battery case so that the temperature-controlled air before heat exchange with the battery flows into the downstream portion 26 from a plurality of locations. . Further, a plurality of discharge ducts may be communicated with the downstream portion 26 of one battery case, and the temperature-controlled air in the downstream portion 26 may be discharged to the outside.

  In the first embodiment, the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 have the temperature-controlled air from the first duct 34 and the temperature-controlled air from the second duct 36 applied to the battery case 12 from the direction in which the batteries 20 are arranged side by side. The battery case 12A communicated with the battery case 12A. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the battery case 12 </ b> A may be communicated with the battery case 12 so as to flow into the battery case 12 from the upstream portion 24 toward the downstream portion 26. Further, for example, one of the first duct 34 and the second duct 36 is connected to the battery case 12A so that the temperature-controlled air flows into the battery case 12 from the direction in which the batteries 20 are arranged, and the other is the upstream portion 24. The temperature control air may be communicated with the battery case 12 </ b> A from the direction toward the downstream portion 26.

  In the first embodiment, the air blowing mechanism 14 is configured by a single air blowing fan. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if a single air blowing fan is provided for a plurality of battery cases 12A and 12B, A plurality of blower fans may be provided. Of course, a single blower fan may be provided for one battery case.

  In the above embodiment, the configuration may be such that the connection duct 32 is not provided, and in that case, a configuration in which a temperature control air flows independently by disposing a blower mechanism for each battery case is preferable. Further, the battery case 12 and the air blowing mechanism may be directly connected. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, each duct is formed by the thickness of the partition wall 29 in the battery case 12A. In FIG. 6, only the first duct 334 corresponding to the first flow path is shown, but the second duct corresponding to the second flow path may be configured similarly. Thus, when the battery case 12 and the air blowing mechanism are directly connected to both the first flow path and the second flow path, the air blowing mechanism is provided separately. In addition, the battery case 12 and the air blowing mechanism may be directly connected with respect to one flow path, and the battery case 12 and the air blowing mechanism may not be directly connected with respect to the other flow path. Temperature-controlled air may be caused to flow into the other channel from the blower mechanism communicating with the channel.

  In the above embodiment, a blower fan having a heating function and a cooling function is adopted as the blower mechanism 14, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a blower fan having a heating function but not a cooling function may be used. Further, the blower mechanism 14 may be a blower fan that has a cooling function but does not have a heating function. That is, as long as the temperature of the battery can be adjusted, the temperature-controlled air (temperature control medium) to be cooled or the temperature-controlled air to be heated may be used.

In the above embodiment, the gap 28 may not be formed between the battery 20 and the partition wall 29 of the battery case 12A.
In the above embodiment, a square secondary battery is used as the battery 20, but the battery 20 is not limited to this.

In the above embodiment, a configuration with only one battery case may be used. One battery may be stored in one battery case.
In the above embodiment, the battery case 12A has a rectangular shape when viewed from above, but is not limited to this shape.

Next, a technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment and another example will be added below.
(B) The second flow path does not exchange heat with the battery housed in the battery case without passing through the first flow path. It flows in into the downstream part of a case, The battery temperature control apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned.

  (B) The blower mechanism includes a first blower fan that communicates with the first flow path and a second blower fan that communicates with the second flow path, and the second blower fan includes: The battery temperature control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flow rate of the temperature-controlled air is smaller than that of the first blower fan.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,100,200 ... Battery temperature control apparatus, 12A, 12B ... Battery case, 14, 114, 214 ... Blower mechanism, 20 ... Battery, 20A ... 1st end part, 20B ... 2nd end part, 22 ... Storage part, 24 ... Upstream part, 26 ... Downstream part, 34, 234 ... First duct, 36, 236A, 236B ... Second duct.

Claims (3)

In a battery temperature control apparatus comprising a battery case in which a battery is stored, and a blower mechanism for sending temperature control air to the battery case,
A first flow path for flowing the temperature-controlled air sent from the blower mechanism into an upstream portion of the battery case located on the first end side of the battery;
The temperature-controlled air that flows into the upstream portion of the battery case from the first flow path and exchanges heat with the battery housed in the battery case is located on the second end side of the battery. A discharge flow path for discharging from the downstream portion of the battery case;
A battery temperature control apparatus comprising: a second flow path for flowing the temperature-controlled air before heat exchange with the battery into a downstream portion of the battery case.   The battery temperature control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second flow path has a flow rate of temperature control air smaller than that of the first flow path.   3. The battery temperature according to claim 1, wherein the blower mechanism includes a single blower fan that sends the temperature-controlled air to both the first flow path and the second flow path. Preparation device.