Battery cooling device and method for cooling a battery cell of an electrically powered aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12525666-B2
Application number	US-202217686498-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2022
Priority date	Mar 5, 2021
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

A battery cooling device (6) for cooling at least one battery cell (5) of an electrically operated aircraft is provided, the battery cooling device (6) having a first cooling device (7, 8) configured for absorbing a first amount of heat at least from the battery cell (5) in an electrical discharging process and thereby cooling it. The first cooling device has at least one latent heat storage unit with a variable state of aggregation. The battery cooling device (6) also includes a second cooling device (9), which is configured for absorbing a second amount of heat from the battery cell (5) and the first cooling device in an electrical charging process, the second cooling device (9) being able to be filled with and flowed through by a coolant (13). Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for cooling a battery cell of an electrically powered aircraft.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A battery cooling device for cooling a battery cell of an electrically operated aircraft, the battery cooling device comprising:
a first cooling device configured for absorbing a first amount of heat at least from the battery cell in an electrical discharging process, the first cooling device comprising at least one latent heat storage unit with a variable state of aggregation; and a second cooling device configured for absorbing a second amount of heat from the battery cell and the first cooling device, the second cooling device being able to be filled with and flowed through by a coolant, wherein the second cooling device has a flexible hose that is fillable with and flowed through by a coolant, and the flexible hose is configured to expand when the coolant flows through the flexible hose to exert a pressing pressure on the battery cell and the first cooling device, wherein the second cooling device is configured to connect to a pumping network for pumping the coolant through the second cooling device during charging of the battery cell, the pumping network being outside the electrically operated aircraft.

2 . The battery cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second cooling device is connected in a thermally conducting manner to the battery cell by a first intermediate layer and the first intermediate layer is electrically insulating.

3 . The battery cooling device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the second cooling device is connected in a thermally conducting manner to the first intermediate layer by a second intermediate layer and the second intermediate layer has a higher mechanical load-bearing capacity, than the first intermediate layer.

4 . A battery module comprising the battery cooling device according to claim 1 , and the battery cell.

5 . The battery module as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising a fire protection material, which at least partially encloses the battery cell.

6 . The battery module as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising a busbar, and the battery cell is connected to the busbar in an electrically conductive manner by at least one wire bond.

7 . The battery module as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the battery cell comprises at least two battery cells which are in each case configured as a cylindrical round cell with a negatively poled end face and with a positively poled end face, the round cells being arranged parallel to one another and the negatively poled end faces of all of the at least two battery cells being arranged on a first side of the battery module and the positively poled end faces of all of the at least two battery cells being arranged on a second side of the battery module.

8 . A vertical takeoff and landing, electrically powered aircraft comprising the battery module as claimed in claim 4 .

9 . The vertical takeoff and landing, electrically powered aircraft as claimed in claim 8 , further comprising a connector configured to connect the battery module mechanically and electrically to drive units of the aircraft in an operating state, the connector being releasably configured in order to disconnect the battery module from the aircraft for a charging process.

10 . A battery charging system comprising: the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft as claimed in claim 8 and a ground charging station, the ground charging station has an electrical charging device for the battery cell and a cooling unit and is configured for electrically contacting the battery module for charging the battery cell and for connecting a second cooling system of the battery cooling device to a stationary coolant circuit of the cooling unit in a thermally conducting manner.

11 . The battery cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the flexible hose is configured to be in contact with both the battery cell and the first cooling device.

Assignees

• Volocopter Gmbh

Inventors

• Ziegler Nils

Classifications

• H01M10/6554

  Rods or plates · CPC title

• H01M10/0525

  Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries · CPC title

• H01M2220/20

  Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane · CPC title

• H01M10/643

  Cylindrical cells · CPC title

• H01M10/613 Primary

  Cooling or keeping cold · CPC title