BATTERY ARRANGEMENT, MOTOR VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR FLOODING A HIGH-VOLTAGE BATTERY

Abstract

A battery arrangement for a motor vehicle, the battery arrangement has a high voltage battery which has a battery housing and several battery cells in the battery housing, and a flooding device for flooding the high voltage battery. The flooding device has at least one supply connection, and the battery arrangement is formed to introduce a cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection into the battery housing. Furthermore, the flooding device includes at least one drain through which cooling medium supplied to the battery housing can be guided out of the battery arrangement.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A battery arrangement for a motor vehicle, wherein the battery arrangement has a high voltage battery which has a battery housing and several battery cells in the battery housing, and a flooding device for flooding the high voltage battery, wherein the flooding device has at least one supply connection, wherein the battery arrangement is formed to introduce a cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection into the battery housing, wherein the flooding device has at least one drain through which cooling medium supplied to the battery housing can be guided out of the battery arrangement.

12. The battery arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the flooding device comprises a housing structure which encloses the high voltage battery so that a through-flowable intermediate space which surrounds the battery housing on all sides remains, wherein the flooding device is formed to supply a cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection to the intermediate space, wherein in particular cooling medium supplied to the intermediate space and/or the battery housing can be guided out of the battery arrangement through the at least one drain.

13. The battery arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the cooling medium can be supplied to the interior of the battery housing by the flooding device in such a way that the cooling medium comes into direct contact with at least one battery cell, in particular its cell poles.

14. The battery arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the flooding device has a first line from at least one supply connection at least to the housing structure, via which cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection can be supplied to the intermediate space.

15. The battery arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the flooding device has a second line from at least one supply connection at least to the battery housing, via which cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection can be introduced into the battery housing.

16. The battery arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the battery housing has at least one opening through which cooling medium located in the intermediate space can be guided into the battery housing.

17. A motor vehicle with a battery arrangement according to claim 11.

18. The motor vehicle according to claim 17, wherein the motor vehicle has a driver door and a passenger door, as well as a first sill area below the driver door and a second sill area below the passenger door, wherein the at least one supply connection and/or an outlet area of the drain is arranged in the first sill area and/or the second sill area.

19. The motor vehicle according to claim 17, wherein the at least one supply connection and/or an outlet area of the drain is arranged in an engine compartment and/or front trunk and/or underbody and/or tail end and/or trunk.

20. A method for flooding a high voltage battery of a motor vehicle, wherein the high voltage battery has a battery housing and several battery cells in the battery housing, wherein a cooling medium can be introduced into the battery housing via at least one supply connection, wherein the flooding device has at least one drain through which cooling medium supplied to the battery housing is guided out of the battery arrangement.

21. The battery arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the cooling medium can be supplied to the interior of the battery housing by the flooding device in such a way that the cooling medium comes into direct contact with at least one battery cell, in particular its cell poles.

22. The battery arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the flooding device has a first line from at least one supply connection at least to the housing structure, via which cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection can be supplied to the intermediate space.

23. The battery arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the flooding device has a second line from at least one supply connection at least to the battery housing, via which cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection can be introduced into the battery housing.

24. The battery arrangement according to claim 13, wherein the flooding device has a second line from at least one supply connection at least to the battery housing, via which cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection can be introduced into the battery housing.

25. The battery arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the flooding device has a second line from at least one supply connection at least to the battery housing, via which cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection can be introduced into the battery housing.

26. The battery arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the flooding device has a second line from at least one supply connection at least to the battery housing, via which cooling medium supplied to the at least one supply connection can be introduced into the battery housing.

27. The battery arrangement according to claim 13, wherein the battery housing has at least one opening through which cooling medium located in the intermediate space can be guided into the battery housing.

28. The battery arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the battery housing has at least one opening through which cooling medium located in the intermediate space can be guided into the battery housing.

29. The battery arrangement according to claim 15, wherein the battery housing has at least one opening through which cooling medium located in the intermediate space can be guided into the battery housing.

30. The motor vehicle according to claim 18, wherein the at least one supply connection and/or an outlet area of the drain is arranged in an engine compartment and/or front trunk and/or underbody and/or tail end and/or trunk.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0041] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described hereinafter. The following is shown:

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a motor vehicle with a battery arrangement and a flooding device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0043] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a motor vehicle with a battery arrangement and a flooding device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a schematic and perspective representation of the battery arrangement with a flooding device according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The exemplary embodiments explained hereinafter are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the described components of the embodiments each represent individual features of the invention to be considered independently of one another, which each also refine the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is also intended to comprise combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those represented. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further ones of the already described features of the invention.

[0046] In the figures, same reference numerals respectively designate elements that have the same function.

[0047] FIG. 1 shows an example of a motor vehicle 10 formed as a passenger car with a battery arrangement 11. The battery arrangement 11 has a high voltage battery 12 which can be formed to supply an electric drive or a hybrid drive of the motor vehicle 10 with electricity. The high voltage battery 12 comprises several battery cells, which are not explicitly represented in this example, and which are accommodated by a battery housing 14. In other words, the battery cells are arranged in the battery housing 14 of the high voltage battery 12. In order to extinguish the high voltage battery 12 particularly efficiently if at least one of the battery cells catches fire, or to delay the burning or even to prevent an overheated battery cell from catching fire, the battery arrangement 11 furthermore has a flooding device 16 which comprises an optional housing structure 18. This housing structure 18 encloses the high voltage battery in such a way that an intermediate space 20 which surrounds the high voltage battery 12 on all sides remains between the housing structure 18 and the battery housing 14, which can also be referred to as an air gap 20, and which can be filled or flowed through by a cooling medium 21. The cooling medium 21 preferably represents a liquid cooling medium, such as water. When water is discussed below as the cooling medium, the exemplary embodiments shown can also be used analogously for other cooling media and extinguishing agents, in particular also gaseous extinguishing agents such as CO.sub.2 or nitrogen.

[0048] In order to now supply a cooling medium, such as water, to this intermediate space 20, the flooding device 16 furthermore has at least one supply connection 22. It is fluidically connected to the intermediate space 20. This connection can be provided by a first line 24, for example. The supply connection 22 is furthermore preferably arranged on the outside of the motor vehicle 10 so that it is accessible from outside the motor vehicle, for example for the fire brigade. In order to avoid misuse, a protective measure can also be provided, such as a pressure relief valve, a mechanical lock, locks or the like, so that access to the intermediate space 20 is protected by this protective measure. This applies not only to the supply connection 26, which comprises at least the supply connection 22 and the optional first line 24, as well as a second line 28, which leads from the supply connection 22 into the interior of the battery housing 14, but also analogously to a drain means 30, which will be explained in more detail later.

[0049] A cooling medium can therefore be supplied to the intermediate space 20 via the supply connection 26, in particular via the first line 24 mentioned. This line can be formed, for example, as a tube, for example as a connecting piece in the housing structure 18 or a hose or the like that opens into the housing structure 18.

[0050] Otherwise, the battery arrangement, and in particular the flooding device with the housing structure, can be formed as in the earlier German patent application by the same applicant entitled “Battery arrangement with flooding device for high voltage battery and motor vehicle and operating method for this” and with the application Ser. No. 10/202,0118892.7, filed on Jul. 16, 2020, in particular except for the possibility provided by the present invention to introduce a cooling medium directly into the battery housing, as is explained in more detail below. Thus, the features and details described for FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 on pages 17 to 22 of this earlier application and shown in these figures of the earlier application can also be understood as possible further developments of the battery arrangement, the motor vehicle and the method in the context of the present invention. In addition, the features presented in claims 1 to 5 of this earlier application can provide corresponding further developments of the battery arrangement according to the present invention, the features presented in claims 6 to 9 of the earlier application can provide corresponding further developments of the motor vehicle according to the present invention and features presented in claims 10 to 13 of the earlier application 5 can provide corresponding further developments of the method for flooding a high voltage battery according to the present invention.

[0051] In this exemplary embodiment, a second line 28 is now also provided, which fluidly connects the same supply connection 22 to an interior of the battery housing 14. This connection can also be secured with one of the protective measures mentioned above. Cooling medium, which is supplied to the supply connection 22, can now advantageously also be introduced via this second line 28 directly into the interior of the battery 12, in particular into the interior of the battery housing 14, in particular in such a way that it can be brought into direct contact with the battery cells including their interconnections. As a result, the extinguishing and cooling effect can be maximized and the process of thermal runaway of the battery cells can be interrupted or at least slowed down in a particularly efficient manner.

[0052] The supply connection 22 and/the an opening 34 of the drain means 30 is preferably located laterally in an area of the motor vehicle 10 below the vehicle door, in particular on both sides of the motor vehicle 10, in order to increase accessibility, for example when the motor vehicle 10 rolls over. Optionally, the supply connection 22 and/or the opening 34 of the drain means 30 can also be arranged in an engine compartment, a front trunk, an underbody, a rear closure or a trunk.

[0053] These two lines 24, 28 are coupled to the same supply connection 26, which thus provides a main connection. Thus, the great advantage is that the fire brigade only has to operate one main extinguishing connection, namely the supply connection 26, in order to carry out the two important extinguishing and cooling functions at the same time, in particular in the event of a battery fire, namely effective extinguishing of the high voltage battery 12 by introducing water into the high voltage battery 12, and at the same time the flushing of the high voltage battery 12, in particular to cool the vehicle underbody 32, under which the high voltage battery 12 is arranged, in order to delay a fire, for example in the carpeted floor in the vehicle interior, as much as possible.

[0054] The flushing of the high voltage battery 12 can be designed particularly advantageously by the housing structure 18, because this allows the individual sides of the battery housing to be cooled particularly efficiently by large-area contact with the cooling medium 21 and not only temporarily and incompletely by spraying or the like. The housing structure 18 thus forms, so to speak, a through-flowable dip tank for the battery 12. As a result, the heat generated in the battery 12 can be dissipated in all directions and the cooling capacity can thereby be maximized.

[0055] So that this intermediate space 20 can not only be filled with the cooling medium 21, but can also be flowed through, at least one additional drain means 30 is preferably provided, which allows the cooling medium 21 to be discharged at least from the high voltage battery 12 or the battery housing, and in particular from the intermediate space 20. For this purpose, the drain means 30 can have a drain opening 34 which is fluidically connected to the intermediate space 20 via a line 36. This line 36 can also be protected against misuse by one of the protective measures mentioned above and can be formed to be temporarily lockable, for example. Furthermore, the drain means 30 can also have a further drain line 38 which also fluidly connects an outlet opening 34 to the interior of the battery housing 14. Likewise, this line 38 can be formed to be protected against misuse with one of the protective measures described. Although the two openings 34 of the drain means 30 are represented separately in FIG. 1, they can also open into a common opening 34. In particular, a connection means can also be formed at these openings 34 analogously to the supply connection 22. In other words, the supply means 26 and the drain means 30 can be arranged with the same construction only at different positions of the housing structure 18 and the battery housing 14. These two means, i.e. the supply means 26 and the drain means 30, are preferably located as far away from one another as possible with respect to at least a first direction which can represent, for example, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle or the transverse direction of the vehicle. This allows the flow conditions to be optimized. At the same time, it is preferred that the drain means 30 can also be used as a supply means 26 and vice versa. In other words, the cooling medium 21 can be supplied via the drain means 30 both to the intermediate space 20 and to the interior of the battery housing 14, and conversely this cooling medium 21 can be discharged from the interior of the battery housing 14 and the intermediate space 20 via the supply means 26. If only one of these two means is accessible in the event of an accident of the motor vehicle 10, then the most easily accessible connection can be used to flood battery 12 on the outside and inside. In addition, it is also conceivable to provide additional supply means 26 and drain means 30. Through the targeted discharge of the cooling medium from the housing structure 18 and from the battery 12, a defined flow of extinguishing medium can be provided in the high voltage battery 12 and in the enclosing housing structure 18, as a result of which heat can be dissipated more efficiently. A fire hose, for example, can be connected to at least one main water filler connecting piece, such as the supply connection 22, so that the HV battery 12 can be flushed directly with extinguishing water and flushed directly into the HV battery 12. The water then leaves the enclosing housing structure 18 and the high voltage battery 12 at at least one outlet connecting piece, generally the drain means 30.

[0056] A hose or a discharge device can also be connected to the openings 34, which can be provided by outlet connecting pieces, so that the water can be discharged in a targeted manner, for example into the sewage system or a ditch or a collection container, which is particularly advantageous when the water is very hot and partly contains pollutants. Furthermore, it is also conceivable that the water or, in general, the cooling medium 21 can be circulated between the water outlet connecting piece 34 and the water inlet connecting piece 24, possibly with a pumping and cooling means that is not represented in detail in this example.

[0057] Furthermore, it is preferred that the enclosing housing structure 18 is designed to be watertight, at least to a pressure which corresponds to the water pressure of a fire hose. The tightness of the enclosing housing structure 18 is adjusted via seals, screw connections, adhesive bonds or other sealing means.

[0058] The enclosing housing structure 18 can also have at least one sealed aperture 40 (cf. FIG. 3) for cable connections or battery cooling tubes and so on. In other words, electrical cables 42 (also compare FIG. 3) can be routed through this aperture 40 to the high voltage battery 12 or into its housing 14, as well as other components, such as cooling pipes or hoses, in order to provide battery cooling during normal operation.

[0059] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a motor vehicle 10 with a battery arrangement 11 and a flooding device 16 according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention. In particular, the flooding device 16 can be formed as shown in FIG. 1, apart from the differences described below. In this example, the supply means 26 now has no second line 28 that leads from the supply connection 22 directly into the interior of the battery housing 14. Instead, the battery housing 14 itself has openings 44 through which the cooling medium 21, which was guided into the intermediate space 20 via the supply connection 22, can penetrate into the interior of the battery housing 14. These openings 44 can be designed as permanent openings in the battery housing 14 or as openings that can be opened, for example openings that can be opened under a certain minimum pressure or openings that can be opened at a certain minimum temperature. In principle, these openings 44 can be provided on any side of the battery housing 14. The battery housing 14 has at least one such opening 44, preferably at least two, which in turn are particularly preferably arranged as far apart as possible, so that the cooling medium 21 ideally flows through one of the two openings 44 into the battery housing 14, flows through it and can exit again through the other opening 44. Correspondingly, it is also advantageous if one of the openings 44 is arranged in the area of the supply means 26 and the other one of the two openings 44 in the area of the drain means 30, since in this way specifically defined flow conditions can be set. In principle, however, openings 44 at other points of the battery housing 14 are also conceivable. The cooling medium 21, for example water, can thus in turn be supplied to the intermediate space 20 via the supply connection 22. For this purpose, a fire hose, for example, can in turn be connected to the supply connection 22. In order to reversibly and detachably connect the supply connection 22 to such a liquid-carrying line 46 as the fire hose 46, the supply connection 22, as well as the opening 34 of the drain means 30, can have a coupling unit. By means of the coupling unit, a fire hose can be connected to the flooding device 16, for example, so that the liquid (extinguishing water) can be flushed directly around the high voltage battery 12. The respective coupling unit can couple the respective connecting piece or the supply connection 22 and/or the opening 34 to the line 46, for example by means of a bayonet lock principle. The respective coupling unit can in particular be formed as a cleat coupling (for example a Storz coupling). A connection made by means of the respective coupling unit can be reversibly released so that the connection can be made non-destructively and released again if necessary. The liquid-carrying line 46 can be, for example, a fire hose 46, by means of which the liquid can be conveyed over a distance. This results in the advantage that a robust connection between the flooding device 1646 and the liquid-carrying line 46 can be provided in a particularly simple manner by means of the respective coupling unit.

[0060] The cooling medium 21 introduced into the optional intermediate space 20 continues to penetrate the battery housing 14 via the openings 44 and then comes into direct contact with the battery cells arranged in the battery housing 14, such as lithium-ion cells. If the battery housing 14 is completely flooded, the cooling medium 21 inevitably emerges from further openings 44 depending on the pressure conditions occurring in the housing structure 18 and also leaves the intermediate space 20 again via the drain means 30. This drain means 30 changes to an opening 34 leading to the outside of the motor vehicle.

[0061] In this example, too, the relevant openings 22, 34 can again be designed to be covered by appropriate covers or trims, and in addition these accesses can in turn have protection against unauthorized persons and against misuse. This configuration also brings the great advantage that the fire brigade only has to operate one main extinguishing connection, namely the supply connection 22 or optionally also the drain connection 34, in order to simultaneously carry out the two important extinguishing and cooling functions, namely an effective extinguishing of the high voltage battery 12 via the openings in the battery housing 14 by introducing water into the high voltage battery 12 and at the same time flushing the high voltage battery 12 in order to in particular cool the vehicle underbody 32 in turn, and to delay a fire, for example in the carpeted floor in the vehicle interior, as much as possible.

[0062] As already described, the openings 44 are preferably arranged spatially close to the supply line 24, so that the extinguishing medium 21 is conveyed into the battery housing 14 with the appropriate water pressure. The introduced water can be drained out again in a targeted manner via at least one water outlet. Thereby, a defined extinguishing medium flow in the high voltage battery 12 and in the enclosing housing structure 18 is possible.

[0063] FIG. 3 shows the battery arrangement 11 and in particular the flooding device 16 according to FIG. 2 again in a perspective representation and in particular with minor modifications relating to the position of the openings 44. Other means are also illustrated here, which will now be explained in more detail below. Here, for example, the sealed aperture 40 can be seen in order to guide electrical cables 42 and other components into the interior of the battery housing 14 without contact with the cooling medium 21. Furthermore, FIG. 3 also shows a hose 46, such as a fire hose 46, which is coupled to the supply connection 22 and via which cooling medium 21, which is illustrated here as an arrow, is supplied to the intermediate space 20. As described, the supply connection 22 is coupled to the housing structure 18 via the first line 24 or opens into it. The opening area is labeled 48 here and represents a coupling area. The areas in which the lines 36 of the drain means 30 are connected to the housing structure 18 are also denoted by 48 and also represent coupling areas. During the battery decay process, gases 50 are produced which should be discharged in order to rule out the risk of explosion. For this purpose, an outgassing outlet 52 is considered in the present example, which can be equipped with a pressure relief valve and via which gases 50 can be led out of the housing structure 18 with a corresponding overpressure. Corresponding outgassing outlets can also be provided in the battery housing 14, although they are not explicitly represented here. In the present case, this outgassing outlet 52 is additionally coupled to a hose 54 which is connected in particular to this outlet 52. The gases can be discharged in a targeted manner through such a hose 54, which is particularly advantageous since these can contain toxic substances. Thus, these gases 50 can be routed far away from rescue personnel while they are engaged in occupant rescue and battery extinguishing.

[0064] In this example, a hose 56 is also connected to the connection 34 of the drain means 30. The cooling medium 21 can be discharged in a defined manner from the intermediate space 20 via this hose 56 and, for example, guided into a container or ditch or the like. In addition, a sensor means 58 is provided in this example, which is coupled to the hose 56 or can be brought into contact with the discharged cooling medium 21 in order to be able to carry out various measurements, on the basis of which the decay time of the thermal event of the battery 12 can be determined. Such a sensor means 58 can thus be used, for example, to determine the water inlet and outlet temperature and the water flow rate in order to determine a possible leak. The sensor means 58 can also comprise gas sensors or be formed to carry out wet-chemical analysis methods, for example determining the pH value. Furthermore, such a sensor means 58 can be provided at each inlet and outlet, in particular in the lines 24, 36 themselves or in the hoses 46, 56 connected thereto. The state of the battery fire can thereby be advantageously monitored.

[0065] Overall, the examples show how the invention can provide a battery extinguishing method through battery openings and with maximized occupant protection, which makes it possible to extinguish the battery particularly efficiently in the event of an overheated battery or a battery fire. The big advantage is that the fire brigade only has to operate one main extinguishing connection in order to simultaneously carry out two important functions in the event of a battery fire, namely effectively extinguishing the high voltage battery by introducing water and flushing the high voltage battery, above all to cool the vehicle underbody. A separate extinguishing lance is not necessary, which means that no special equipment is required and no separate training either. This means that every fire brigade worldwide can control a battery fire. In order to stop or delay a battery fire in a vehicle, it is no longer necessary to completely flood the entire vehicle in a container. People who are trapped can be cut out of the vehicle for a longer period of time, even if the battery is already catching fire. This is possible by flooding the battery in the new enclosing housing structure. Significantly faster decay of the battery compared to conventional measures is also possible. There is no loss of time to get the container, the water volume or the fire-fighting vehicles with a crane. The vehicles no longer have to remain inside the water container for days, since it cannot be detected with certainty whether the battery has already decayed, because during this decay time there is still an abstract safety risk, which means that the decay process must be accompanied in the presence of the fire brigade. The decay times can be significantly reduced by effective cooling, as is made possible by the invention.