Temperature control device, battery system, controller and method for heating a battery

Abstract

A temperature control device (1) for a battery system (100) having a circulation system (10) with a temperature control unit (20) for controlling the temperature of at least one battery (110) of the battery system (100), and at least one power semiconductor (30) for disconnecting and establishing a flow of electrical current between the at least one battery (110) and a consumer (200) of the at least one battery (110), wherein the at least one power semiconductor (30) is assigned to the temperature control unit (20) in such a way that the temperature control unit (20) can be heated by waste heat of the at least one power semiconductor (30) which is produced during the disconnection and/or establishment of the flow of electrical current.

Claims

1. A temperature control device (1) for a battery system (100) having a circulation system (10) including a feed unit (40) for feeding a temperature control medium through the circulation system in one direction and in a reverse direction, the circulation system also including a temperature control unit (20) for controlling the temperature of at least one battery (110) of the battery system (100), and at least one power semiconductor (30) for disconnecting and establishing a flow of electrical current between the at least one battery (110) and a consumer (200) of the at least one battery (110), characterized in that the at least one power semiconductor (30) is connected to the temperature control unit (20) in such a way that the temperature control unit (20) can be heated by waste heat of the at least one power semiconductor (30), which waste heat is produced during disconnection and/or establishment of the flow of electrical current, and wherein the temperature control device (1) is configured to selectively control the feed unit (40) to transport the waste heat in the one direction directly from the at least one power semiconductor (30) to the at least one battery (110), via the temperature control unit (20), to heat the at least one battery (110).

2. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, including a controller (50) configured to selectively control the feed unit (40) for feeding the temperature control medium in the one direction, the controller (50) also configured to selectively control the feed unit (40) for feeding the heated temperature control medium in the reverse direction for cooling the at least one battery (110).

3. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the temperature control device (1) is configured to be used in a motor vehicle, and wherein the controller (50) is configured to selectively control the feed unit (40) to transport the waste heat in the one direction when a cold start of the motor vehicle is detected.

4. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 3, wherein the controller (50) is configured to selectively control the feed unit (40) to transport the waste heat in the reverse direction when the at least one battery is not cold.

5. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the temperature control device (1) is configured to be used in an electric vehicle, and wherein the controller (50) is configured to selectively control the feed unit (40) to transport the waste heat in the one direction when a cold start of the electric vehicle is detected.

6. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one power semiconductor (30) is arranged on the temperature control unit (20) and the at least one battery (110) is arranged on the temperature control unit (20) and spaced from the at least one power semiconductor (30).

7. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one power semiconductor (30) has a bipolar transistor with an insulated gate electrode (IGBT) and/or a power metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET).

8. A battery system (100) having the at least one battery (110) and the temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the battery system is configured such that the at least one battery (110) can be heated by the temperature control device (1).

9. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one power semiconductor (30) is arranged directly on the temperature control unit (20) and spaced from the at least one battery (110) arranged on the temperature control unit.

10. The temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that flow of electrical current between the at least one battery (110) and the consumer (200) is disconnected and restored by the at least one power semiconductor (30) with a frequency in a range from 19.5 kHz to 22 kHz.

11. A road vehicle including the temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control unit (20), the battery system (100), and the circulation system (10) are provided with the road vehicle.

12. The road vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the consumer (200) is an electric drive.

13. The temperature control device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control unit (20) is a plate-shaped temperature control unit that the temperature control medium passes through.

14. A motor vehicle including the temperature control device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control unit (20), the battery system (100), and the circulation system (10) are provided with the motor vehicle, and wherein the consumer (200) is an electric drive.

15. A method for heating at least one battery (110) of a battery system (100) with a temperature control device (1), wherein the temperature control device (1) includes a circulation system (10) with a temperature control unit (20) and at least one power semiconductor (30) for disconnecting and establishing a flow of electrical current between the at least one battery (110) and a consumer (200), the method comprising heating the temperature control unit (20) by waste heat of the at least one power semiconductor (30), which waste heat is generated during the disconnection and/or establishment of the flow of electrical current, and selectively transporting the waste heat to the at least one battery.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the circulation system (10) has a feed unit (40) for feeding a temperature control medium through the circulation system, wherein the temperature control medium is heated in the circulation system (10) by the waste heat of the power semiconductor at the temperature control unit (20), the heated temperature control medium is fed directly to the at least one battery (110) through the circulation system by the feed unit (40), and as a result the at least one battery (110) is heated.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the circulation system (10) includes a heat exchanger (60) for cooling the temperature control medium, and wherein the feed unit (40) selectively reverses a direction of flow of the temperature control medium for selectively cooling the at least one battery.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the consumer (200) is an electric drive for driving an electric vehicle.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the at least one power semiconductor (30) for heating the at least one battery (110) is operated with an efficiency level which is lower than an efficiency level with which the at least one power semiconductor (30) is operated when the at least one battery (110) is not heated by the at least one power semiconductor (30).

20. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that flow of electrical current between the at least one battery (110) and the consumer (200) is disconnected and restored by the at least one power semiconductor (30) with a frequency in a range from 19 kHz to 25 kHz.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings, in each case in a schematic form:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a battery system with a temperature control device in the standard operating mode and

(3) FIG. 2 shows a battery system with a temperature control device according to an embodiment of the present invention for heating battery cells in a low temperature operating mode.

(4) Elements with an identical function and method of operation are respectively provided with the same reference symbols in FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a battery system 100a for the electric drive of a motor vehicle. The battery system 100a has a temperature control circuit 10 in which an essentially plate-shaped temperature control unit 20 in the form of a cooling plate is arranged, wherein a power semiconductor 30 is arranged on the temperature control unit 20. Furthermore, a battery 110 with a plurality of battery cells 111 is arranged on the temperature control unit 20. In order to circulate a temperature control medium or coolant in the temperature control circuit 10 which is embodied as a cooling circuit a feed unit 40 in the form of a coolant pump 40 is arranged in the temperature control circuit 10. Furthermore, a heat exchanger 60 and a temperature control element 70 are positioned in the temperature control circuit 10. The temperature control element 70 is here a unit of a temperature control device 1a of the battery system 100a. FIG. 1 also illustrates a consumer 200 of the battery 110 which can be part of the battery system 100a. The consumer 200 and the battery 110 are or can be electrically connected to one another and correspondingly disconnected from one another by means of the power semiconductor 30. In order to perform open-loop and/or closed-loop control of the battery system 100a or of the temperature control device 1a, the battery system 100a has a controller 50a.

(6) A battery system 100 according to the invention and a temperature control device 1 according to the invention for the battery system 100 will subsequently be described with respect to FIG. 2. The battery system 100 according to FIG. 2 corresponds structurally essentially to the battery system 100a according to FIG. 1, for which reason in particular the distinguishing features of the two battery systems will be subsequently described in order to avoid unnecessary repetition.

(7) The battery system 100 which is illustrated in FIG. 2 differs, in particular, from the battery system 100a illustrated in FIG. 1 in that the temperature control device 1 does not have a separate temperature control element 70. In the illustrated temperature control device 1, the power semiconductor 30 is assigned to the temperature control unit 20, or positioned thereon, in such a way that the temperature control unit 20 can be heated by waste heat of the power semiconductor 30, which waste heat is produced during a disconnection and/or establishment of a flow of electrical current between the consumer 200 and the battery 110. For this purpose, the temperature control medium in the circulation system 10 can be heated by the waste heat of the power semiconductor, and the feed unit 40 is configured in such a way that the heated temperature control medium can be fed directly to the battery 110 or into the direct vicinity of the battery 110 in the direction thereof through the circulation system 10 and as a result the at least one battery 110 can be heated. The direction of flow of the temperature control medium can be reversed here by means of the feed unit 40, i.e. the feed unit 40 is configured correspondingly. The power semiconductor 30 is embodied as an IGBT according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2.

(8) A method according to the invention for heating the battery 110 of the battery system 100 with the temperature control device 1 will subsequently be described with respect to FIG. 2. In a first step, the requirement to heat the battery 110, for example in the case of a cold start of a motor vehicle is detected here. In a subsequent step the temperature control medium in the circulation system 10 is then heated by the waste heat of the power semiconductor 30. In this context, the power semiconductor 30 is operated at a frequency of approximately 20 kHz with a low efficiency level at which a heat loss of approximately 600 W occurs at the power semiconductor 30. In a subsequent step, the temperature control medium which is heated as a result is then fed directly, or on the shortest possible path, in the direction of the battery 110 through the circulation system 10 by means of the feed unit 40, as a result of which the battery 110 is heated.

(9) In order to carry out the method described above, according to FIG. 2 a controller 50 is made available and correspondingly configured, which controller 50 is connected to the battery system 100 and/or to the temperature control device 1 by cable and/or in a wireless fashion.