Battery Cooling Plate

Abstract

A battery cooling plate includes at least one planar heat transfer surface that is bounded by four edges. A coolant inlet port and a coolant outlet port are both arranged along a first one of the edges, and a coolant flow path extends through the battery cooling plate adjacent to the at least one planar heat transfer surface between the coolant inlet port and the coolant outlet port. The coolant flow path includes a first portion that extends along the entire length of a second, third, and fourth edge of the at least one planar heat transfer surface. The coolant flow path further includes a second portion that is arranged downstream of the first portion. The second portion of the coolant flow path is separated from the second, third, and fourth edges of the planar heat transfer surface by the first portion of the coolant flow path.

Claims

1. A battery cooling plate comprising: at least one planar heat transfer surface bounded by a first edge a second edge, a third edge, and a fourth edge; a coolant inlet port and a coolant outlet port arranged along the first edge; a coolant flow path extending through the battery cooling plate adjacent the at least one planar surface between the coolant inlet port and the coolant outlet port, the coolant flow path including a first portion extending along the entire length of the second, third, and fourth edges, and a second portion arranged downstream of the first portion, wherein the second portion is separated from the second, third, and fourth edges by the first portion.

2. The battery cooling plate of claim 1, wherein flow turbulating features are arranged along the second portion of the coolant flow path and wherein the majority of the first portion of the coolant flow path is absent of flow turbulating features.

3. The battery cooling plate of claim 1, wherein the coolant inlet port is arranged at the intersection of the first edge and one of the second, third, and fourth edges.

4. The battery cooling plate of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the coolant flow path additionally extends along a part of the first edge.

5. The battery cooling plate of claim 4, further comprising a coolant outlet manifold arranged along a part of the first edge, adjacent to a segment of the first portion of the coolant flow path.

6. The battery cooling plate of claim 1, wherein the second portion of the coolant flow path includes a first pass and a second pass, coolant flowing along the first pass being directed away from the first edge and coolant flowing along the second pass being directed towards the first edge.

7. The battery cooling plate of claim 1, further comprising one or more turbulating inserts arranged within the battery cooling plate, wherein the second portion of the coolant flow path extends through the one or more turbulating inserts and wherein the first portion of the coolant flow path extends along an outer periphery of the one or more turbulating inserts.

8. The battery cooling plate of claim 7, wherein the second portion of the coolant flow path includes a first pass and a second pass that are separated by a flow barrier integrally formed into at least one of the one or more turbulating inserts.

9. The battery cooling plate of claim 7, wherein the first portion of the coolant flow path is at least partially defined by the outer periphery of the one or more turbulating inserts.

10. The battery cooling plate of claim 7, wherein the one or more turbulating inserts includes a first turbulating insert having a void and a second turbulating insert arranged within that void.

11. A battery cooling plate comprising: first and second planar walls, spaced apart to define a coolant volume therebetween; at least two turbulating inserts arranged within the coolant volume and joined to the first and second planar walls, the at least two turbulating inserts collectively having a rectangular outer periphery; and a coolant flow path extending through the coolant volume and having a first portion not extending through the at least two turbulating inserts and a second portion extending through the at least two turbulating inserts, wherein the first portion extends along at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery.

12. The battery cooling plate of claim 11, wherein said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery are impermeable to fluid flow.

13. The battery cooling plate of 11, wherein an inwardly facing surface of the first planar wall has a surface area and wherein the percentage of said surface area that is arranged within the rectangular outer periphery of the at least two turbulating inserts is at least seventy percent.

14. The battery cooling plate of 11, wherein the at least two turbulating inserts includes a first turbulating insert that provides at least one of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery, and a second turbulating insert that provides at least one other of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery.

15. The battery cooling plate of claim 14, wherein the first turbulating insert provides two of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery and the second turbulating insert provides exactly one of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery.

16. The battery cooling plate of claim 14, wherein the second turbulating insert has a trapezoidal shape.

17. The battery cooling plate of claim 11, wherein each of the at least two turbulating inserts is permeable to fluid flow in a low-pressure-drop direction and in a high-pressure-drop direction, the high-pressure-drop direction being oriented perpendicular to the low-pressure-drop direction, and wherein the low-pressure-drop direction of a first one of the at least two turbulating inserts is aligned with the high-pressure-drop direction of a second one of the at least two turbulating inserts.

18. The battery cooling plate of claim 17, wherein the second one of the turbulating inserts has a trapezoidal shape and the first one of the turbulating inserts has a corresponding trapezoidal shaped void into which the second one of the turbulating inserts is arranged.

19. The battery cooling plate of claim 17, wherein the first one of the turbulating inserts provides a first one of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery and wherein the second one of the turbulating inserts provides a second one of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery, the first one of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery extending in the low-pressure-drop direction of the first one of the turbulating inserts and the second one of said at least three sides of the rectangular outer periphery extending in the low-pressure-drop direction of the second one of the turbulating inserts.

20. The battery cooling plate of claim 17, wherein a single one of the at least two turbulating inserts provides a first coolant flow pass and a second coolant flow pass along the second portion of the cooling flow path, the first coolant flow pass and the second coolant flow pass both extending in the low-pressure-drop direction of said single one of the turbulating inserts, said single one of the turbulating inserts having an integrally formed flow barrier impermeable to fluid flow arranged between the first and second coolant flow passes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery cooling plate according to some embodiments of the invention.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the battery cooling plate of FIG. 1, with certain internal features revealed.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a turbulating insert for use in the battery cooling plate of FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery cooling plate of FIG. 1.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a detail view of that portion of the battery cooling plate within the circle labeled V in FIG. 4.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a detail view of that portion of the battery cooling plate within the circle labeled VI in FIG. 4.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a detail view of that portion of the battery cooling plate within the circle labeled VII in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.

[0029] A battery cooling plate 1, depicted in FIGS. 1-7, is particularly well-suited to the cooling of battery elements for use within electric vehicle applications. The battery cooling plate 1 includes at least one planar heat transfer surface 2, arranged on what will be referred to as a top surface of the battery cooling plate. Another similar planar heat transfer surface can optionally be provided on the opposing (bottom) surface of the battery cooling plate. It should be noted that reference to a “top” and a “bottom” surface of the battery cooling plate 1 are made with respect to the orientation of the battery cooling plate 1 within the figures, and do not necessarily indicate any particular orientation of the battery cooling plate as installed within a particular end use or application.

[0030] Once the battery cooling plate 1 is installed and operational, batteries or other heat-producing devices in need of cooling are disposed against the planar heat transfer surface or surfaces 2. Heat dissipated by such batteries or other heat-producing devices is transferred through the planar heat transfer surface or surfaces 2 and is removed by a flow of coolant that is directed through the battery cooling plate 1. As a result, a desirable operating temperature of the batteries or other heat-producing devices can be maintained despite the internal generation of heat. To that end, the battery cooling plate 1 is provided with a coolant inlet port 6 through which the coolant is directed into the battery cooling plate 1, and a coolant outlet port 7 through which the coolant is removed from the battery cooling plate 1 after having been heated by the batteries or other heat-producing devices.

[0031] In some applications, and particularly in electric vehicle applications, it can be especially desirable for the battery cooling plate 1 to have both a high thermal conductivity and a low weight. Consequently, it can be especially desirable for the battery cooling plate to be constructed out of aluminum alloys, since aluminum combines both high thermal conductivity and low density. In some particularly preferable embodiments, the battery cooling plate 1 is produced as a brazed aluminum assembly.

[0032] The planar heat transfer surface 2 has a rectangular shape and is bounded by four linear edges 11, 12, 13, and 14. Edges 11 and 13 extend in parallel with one another along what will be referred to as a width direction of the battery cooling plate 1, and are perpendicular to the edges 12 and 14, which extend along what will be referred to as a length direction of the battery cooling plate 1. In the exemplary battery cooling plate 1 the edges 12 and 14 are longer than the edges 11 and 13, although in other embodiments the edges 12 and 14 are equal in length or shorter than the edges 11 and 13.

[0033] The coolant inlet port 6 and the coolant outlet port 7 are arranged along the edge 11 and extend outwardly from the planar heat transfer surface 2. In some alternative embodiments one or both of the ports 6, 7 can extend outwardly from the opposing surface instead. The coolant inlet port 6 is additionally arranged along the edge 12, so that the port 6 is located at the intersection of the edges 11 and 12.

[0034] FIG. 2 depicts a plan view of the battery cooling plate 1 looking down from the top, with internal details of the battery cooling plate 1 revealed for ease of description. As can be seen, provided within the battery cooling plate 1 is a coolant volume 20, through which a coolant flow path 3 is defined. The coolant flow path 3 extends between the inlet port 6 and the outlet port 7, and is at least partially defined by one or more turbulating inserts 10 located within the coolant volume 20.

[0035] The coolant flow path 3 extends through the coolant volume 20 in a generally piecewise linear fashion, with a series of consecutively arranged segments indicated as 3a through 3g. These consecutively arranged segments can be grouped into a first portion of the coolant flow path 3 that includes the segments 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d, and a second portion of the coolant flow path 3 that includes the segments 3e, 3f, and 3g, the second portion therefore being located downstream of the first portion. The first portion of the coolant flow path extends along the entire length of the edges 12, 13, and 14 of the planar heat transfer surface 2. The one or more turbulating inserts 10 define an outer periphery 16 that is spaced inwardly from the edges 11, 12, 13, and 14, so that the first portion of the coolant flow path 3 is arranged between those edges and the outer periphery 16. The second portion of the coolant flow path 3, in contrast, extends through the one or more turbulating inserts 10. The second portion of the coolant flow path 3 therefore is separated from the edges 12, 13, and 14 by the first portion of the coolant flow path 3.

[0036] The one or more turbulating inserts 10 provide flow turbulating features for the coolant, which will be described with particular reference to FIG. 3. Due to the arrangement of the turbulating inserts 10 within the coolant volume 20, these flow turbulating features are arranged along the second portion of coolant flow path, but the first portion of the coolant flow path is absent of such flow turbulating features. The flow turbulating features provide enhance heat transfer performance as the coolant moves along the second portion of the coolant flow path 3, so that the rate of heat transfer into the flow of coolant is enhanced along that portion of the flow path 3.

[0037] The turbulating inserts 10 can be of the lanced and offset variety, as depicted in FIG. 3. Such an insert is formed from a thin sheet of material that is formed (through, for example, a rolling process or a sequential stamping process) into a corrugated shape having alternating crests 24 and 25 extending in opposing directions along a first principal direction 19. The crests can have flat peaks, as shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, or can alternatively have rounded peaks. Short pierces or lances are arranged along a second principal direction 18 that is perpendicular to the first principal direction 19, thereby separating the material into multiple short strips 27 that are connected only at short portions of the crests 24, 25. Along the principal direction 18, the strips 27 are offset in alternatingly opposing directions, so that flow openings 26 are provided between the adjacent strips 27.

[0038] As a result of the piercing and forming operations, the turbulating insert 10 is permeable to fluid flow in both of the principal directions 18 and 19. However, the resistance to fluid flow in the principal direction 19 is substantially greater (typically at least several times greater) than the resistance to fluid flow in the principal direction 18. The principal direction 18 is therefore referred to as the “low-pressure-drop” direction and the principal direction 19 is therefore referred to as the “high-pressure-drop” direction.

[0039] The battery cooling plate 1 is constructed with a first planar wall 8 and a second planar wall 9 which are provided by two separate metal plates. The planar walls 8 and 9 are spaced apart to define the coolant volume 20 therebetween, as can be seen in the exploded view of the battery cooling plate 1 in FIG. 4. The metal plate providing the planar wall 8 is entirely flat, while metal plate providing the planar wall 9 has a formed outer edge that extends towards the planar wall 8 in order to create a sealed periphery along the outer edges of the battery cooling plate. In some alternative embodiments both of the metal plates can be provided with complementary formed outer edges that join to provide that sealed periphery.

[0040] The exemplary embodiment of the battery cooling plate 1 includes two turbulating inserts, labeled as l0a and 10b, which are arranged within the cooling volume 20. The crests 24 of the turbulating inserts are bonded to an inwardly facing surface 17 of one of the planar walls 8, 9, and the crests 25 of the turbulating inserts are bonded to an inwardly facing surface 17 of the other one of the planar walls 8, 9, for example by braze joints. The turbulating insert l0a has a low-pressure-drop direction 18 that is aligned with the length direction of the battery cooling plate 1, i.e. aligned with the edges 12 and 14, and a high-pressure-drop direction 19 that is aligned with the width direction of the battery cooling plate 1, i.e. aligned with the edges 11 and 13. In contrast, the turbulating insert 10b has a low-pressure-drop direction 18 that is aligned with the width direction of the battery cooling plate 1, and a high-pressure drop-direction 19 that is aligned with the length direction of the battery cooling plate 1.

[0041] The turbulating insert 10b has a trapezoidal overall shape, characterized by two parallel edges of unequal length extending in the low-pressure-drop direction and two non-parallel edges of equal length extending at an angle to both the low-pressure-drop direction and the high-pressure-drop direction. The turbulating insert 10a is provided with a complementary trapezoidal-shaped void 21 into which the turbulating insert 10b is received, so that a combined turbulating insert having an overall rectangular outer periphery 16 is realized. The exterior profile of the turbulating insert 10b and the void 21 of the turbulating insert 10a can both be achieved by cutting away material from the inserts after the turbulating features have been formed.

[0042] Together, the turbulating inserts 10a and 10b define an outer periphery 16 of the turbulating inserts. The outer periphery 16 includes three linear edges 16a, 16c, and 16d provided by the turbulating insert 10a, and a linear edge 16b provided by the turbulating insert 10b. The linear edges 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d are parallel to and inwardly spaced from the edges 12, 13, 14, and 11, respectively. The resulting spacing creates the previously described segments 3a, 3b, and 3c of the first portion of the coolant flow path 3. The spacing is preferably rather narrow, so that a substantial percentage of the surface area of the inwardly facing surfaces 17 is covered by the turbulating inserts 10 so that the rate of heat transfer to the coolant can be maximized. In some especially desirable embodiments, the percentage of the surface area of one of the inwardly facing surfaces 17 that is arranged within the rectangular outer periphery 16 of the turbulating inserts is at least seventy percent. In other embodiments that percentage is less than seventy percent.

[0043] In order to provide the requisite hydraulic separation between the coolant flowing along the first portion of the coolant flow path 3 and the coolant flowing along the second portion of the coolant flow path 3, the flow openings 26 between adjacent strips 27 along the linear edges 16a and 16c of the turbulating insert 10a and the linear edge 16b of the turbulating insert 10b are closed off prior to assembly of the turbulating inserts into the battery cooling plate 1. Such a closing of the flow openings 27 can be accomplished during the forming of the turbulating features, for example by re-offsetting alternating ones of the strips 27 so that all of the strips 27 along the given edge are offset in a common direction. The resulting edge profile 23 is indicated in FIG. 5, showing the edge 16c with the closed flow openings. The edges 16a, 16b, and 16c are consequently rendered impervious to fluid flow, thereby preventing any coolant from short-circuiting between the first portion of the coolant flow path 3 to the second portion of the coolant flow path 3, instead forcing the coolant to flow sequentially along the segments of the coolant flow path.

[0044] A similar profile 23 (shown in FIG. 5) is provided at approximately midway along the width direction 19 in the turbulating insert 10a and extends in the length direction 18 from the edge 16d to the void 21. This profile 23 creates a flow barrier that is integrally formed into the turbulating insert 10a to separate the segment 3e of the flow path 3 from the segment 3g, i.e. to separate the first and the second coolant flow passes of the turbulating insert 10a. The flow of coolant is thereby directed along the entirety of the segments 3e and 3g, and is directed from the segment 3e to the segment 3g only by way of the segment 3f provided within the turbulating insert 10b.

[0045] The planar wall 9 is provide with two embossments 4 extending inwardly into the coolant volume 20 to contact the opposing surface 17 of the planar wall 8. The two embossments 4 are arranged along the edge 11. A first one of the embossments 4 is aligned with the edge 16a of the turbulating insert 10a, and a second one of the embossments is arranged approximately midway along the edge 11. The space between the embossments 4 defines a coolant outlet manifold 5 into which the flow segment 3g discharges. The location of the coolant outlet port 7 is directly above the coolant outlet manifold 5, and the outlet port 7 is in fluid communication with the outlet manifold 5 so that the flow of coolant can be removed from the battery cooling plate 1 by way of the coolant outlet port 7. The edge 16d of the turbulating insert 10a is spaced away from the edge 11 to further define the coolant outlet manifold 5, as well as to define the segment 3d of the coolant flow path 3 between the edges 11 and 16d. The segment 3d is part of the first portion of the coolant flow path, which does not pass through the turbulating inserts 10. In this manner, the first portion of the coolant flow path extends along a part of the edge 11 as well as along the entire length of the edges 12, 13, and 14.

[0046] Each of the embossments 4 is provided with a step 24 (best seen in the detail view of FIG. 7) that is approximately equal in height to the material thickness of the turbulating inserts 10. This allows a portion of the embossments 4 to be received into, and joined to, those ones of the flow barrier profiles 23 that are located at the approximate midpoint of the turbulating insert 10a and at the edge 16a. This hydraulically separates the coolant outlet manifold 5 from both the flow segment 3a and from the flow segment 3d, to prevent the flow of coolant from flowing into the coolant outlet manifold 5 without passing along the entire coolant flow path 3. The coolant inlet port 6 is arranged between the edge 12 and the nearest one of the embossments 4 so that the flow of coolant entering the battery cooling plate 1 through the coolant inlet port 6 is directed to the beginning of the coolant flow path 3.

[0047] It should be observed that, although the turbulating inserts 10 are described in the exemplary embodiment with only a single insert 10a and a single insert 10b, either or both could alternatively be constructed of two or more turbulating inserts.

[0048] Various alternatives to the certain features and elements of the present invention are described with reference to specific embodiments of the present invention. With the exception of features, elements, and manners of operation that are mutually exclusive of or are inconsistent with each embodiment described above, it should be noted that the alternative features, elements, and manners of operation described with reference to one particular embodiment are applicable to the other embodiments.

[0049] The embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present invention. As such, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in the elements and their configuration and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.