Vehicle energy-storage systems having parallel cooling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017005376-A1
Application number	US-201514868234-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 28, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2015
Publication date	Jan 5, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Provided are systems for vehicle energy storage having parallel cooling comprising a plurality of modules. Each module may comprise two half modules coupled together. Each half module can include a plurality of battery cells. A current carrier of each half module may be electrically coupled to the cells. The cells may be disposed between the current carrier and a plate. Each half module can have the cells, current carrier, and blast plate disposed in an enclosure. The enclosure can have a coolant sub-system for circulating coolant in parallel to the plurality of cells such that each of the battery cells is at approximately the same predetermined temperature. The modules may be disposed in a tray. A coolant system may be provided for circulating coolant across the plurality of modules in parallel such that each of the modules can be maintained at approximately the same predetermined temperature.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An energy-storage system having parallel cooling comprising:
a plurality of modules, each module comprising two half modules coupled together, each half module including:
a plurality of battery cells, the battery cells being cylindrical rechargeable battery cells each having a first end and a second end, the first end distal from the second end, and having an anode terminal and a cathode terminal being disposed at the first end;
a current carrier electrically coupled to the battery cells, the cathode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective first contact of the current carrier, the anode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective second contact of the current carrier;
a plate disposed substantially parallel to the current carrier such that the battery cells are disposed between the current carrier and the plate; and
an enclosure having the battery cells, current carrier, and plate disposed therein, the enclosure comprising:
a coolant input port;
a coolant output port; and
a power connector electrically coupled to the current carrier, the enclosure having a coolant sub-system for circulating coolant flowing into the enclosure through the coolant input port and out of the enclosure through the coolant output port in parallel to the plurality of battery cells such that each of the battery cells is at approximately the same predetermined temperature;

a tray having the plurality of modules disposed therein; and a coolant system for circulating coolant flowing into the tray across the plurality of modules in parallel such that each of the modules is at approximately the predetermined temperature.

2 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant system creates a pressure gradient for coolant flowing into and out of each module of the plurality of modules disposed in the tray, the pressure gradient providing circulation of the coolant so as to minimize a temperature gradient between modules of the plurality of modules.

3 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the cells are disposed between the current carrier and the plate such that an exterior side of each of the cells is not in contact with the exterior sides of other cells, the coolant sub-system circulating coolant among and between the cells to provide submerged, substantially even distributed cooling.

4 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein air pockets are formed using channels in a space between the current carrier and the plate that is not occupied by the cells, the air pockets comprising a fluid other than the coolant.

5 . The energy-storage system of claim 4 , wherein the coolant flows through each half module along a cylindrical body of a battery cell within the half module.

6 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the modules are arranged in a plurality of strings, each string of the plurality of strings including a plurality of modules.

7 . The energy-storage system of claim 6 , wherein the coolant flows through the plurality of strings in parallel and the coolant flows within each string of the plurality of strings in parallel.

8 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant comprises at least one of a synthetic oil, ethylene glycol and water, and a liquid dielectric.

9 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein at least two adjacent modules of the plurality of modules are fluidly and electrically coupled to each other.

10 . The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the cells are oriented and mounted horizontally in each half module.

11 . An energy-storage system having parallel cooling comprising:
a plurality of modules in a battery pack, each module including:
a plurality of cells, the cells being cylindrical rechargeable cells; the cells being oriented and mounted horizontally in each module;
a current carrier electrically coupled to the cells, a cathode terminal of each of the cells being coupled to a respective first contact of the current carrier, an anode terminal of each of the cells being coupled to a respective second contact of the current carrier;
a plate disposed substantially parallel to the current carrier such that the cells are disposed between the current carrier and the plate; and
an enclosure having the cells, current carrier, and plate disposed therein, the enclosure comprising a coolant sub-system for circulating coolant flowing into the enclosure through a coolant input port and out of the enclosure through a coolant output port, the cells being disposed between the current carrier and the plate such that an exterior side of each of the cells is not in contact with the exterior sides of other cells, the coolant sub-system circulating coolant in parallel among and between the cells to provide submerged, distributed cooling such that each of the cell is at approximately the same predetermined temperature;
a tray having the plurality of modules disposed therein; and a coolant system for circulating coolant flowing into the tray across the plurality of modules in parallel such that each of the modules is at approximately the same predetermined temperature.

12 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein the coolant system creates a pressure gradient for coolant flowing into the battery pack and out of the battery pack, the pressure gradient within the battery pack providing circulation of the coolant so as to minimize a temperature gradient within the battery pack.

13 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein the cells are disposed between the current carrier and the plate such that an exterior side of each of the cells is not in contact with the exterior sides of other cells, the coolant sub-system circulating coolant among and between the cells to provide submerged, substantially even distributed cooling.

14 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein air pockets are formed using channels in a space between the current carrier and the plate that is not occupied by the cells, the air pockets comprising a fluid other than the coolant.

15 . The energy-storage system of claim 14 , wherein the coolant flows through each module along a cylindrical body of a battery cell within the module.

16 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein the modules are arranged in a plurality of strings, each string of the plurality of strings including a plurality of modules.

17 . The energy-storage system of claim 16 , wherein the coolant flows through the plurality of strings in parallel and the coolant flows within each string of the plurality of strings in parallel.

18 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein the coolant comprises at least one of a synthetic oil, ethylene glycol and water, and a liquid dielectric.

19 . The energy-storage system of claim 11 , wherein at least two adjacent modules of the plurality of modules are fluidly and electrically coupled to each other.

20 . A container of an energy-storage system having parallel cooling comprising:
a plurality of module housings, each module comprising two half module housings coupled together, each half module housing is configured to receive
a plurality of cells each having an anode terminal and a cathode terminal being disposed at one end,
the half module housing further including:
a current carrier electrically coupled to the cells, the cathode terminal of each of the cells being coupled to a respective first contact of the current carrier, the anode terminal of each

Assignees

• Faraday&Future Inc

Inventors

• Harris W Porter
• Rosengren Blake
• Sampson Nicholas John

Classifications

• H01M10/613

  Cooling or keeping cold · CPC title

• H01M10/6567

  Liquids · CPC title

• H01M10/6552

  Closed pipes transferring heat by thermal conductivity or phase transition, e.g. heat pipes · CPC title

• H01M10/0525

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

• H01M10/625 Primary

  Vehicles · CPC title