Battery module having a flow-directing configuration in the module housing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018358672-A1
Application number	US-201815994602-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 31, 2018
Priority date	Jun 7, 2017
Publication date	Dec 13, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

n a battery module, having a module housing in which a plurality of battery cells are arranged in such a way that a flow space is formed between each two adjacent battery cells and/or between a peripheral battery cell and a wall portion, adjacent to the peripheral battery cell, of the module housing, through which space a cooling fluid can flow for convective cooling of the battery cells, the module housing having an admission opening for admitting cooling fluid into the module housing, and a discharge opening, different from the admission opening, for discharging cooling fluid from the module housing, there is provided, in an inflow region between the admission opening and the plurality of battery cells, a flow-directing configuration that subdivides the inflow region at least locally into different flow regions.

First claim

1 - 10 . (canceled)

11 . A battery module, having a module housing in which a plurality of battery cells are arranged in such a way that a flow space is formed between each two adjacent battery cells and/or between a peripheral battery cell and a wall portion, adjacent to the peripheral battery cell, of the module housing, through which space a cooling fluid can flow for convective cooling of the battery cells, the module housing having an admission opening for admitting cooling fluid into the module housing, and a discharge opening, different from the admission opening, for discharging cooling fluid from the module housing, there being provided, in an inflow region between the admission opening and the plurality of battery cells, a flow-directing configuration that subdivides the inflow region at least locally into different flow regions.

12 . The battery module according to claim 11 , wherein the flow-directing configuration extends from an initial region, located closer to the admission opening, to the plurality of battery cells.

13 . The battery module according to claim 11 , wherein a plurality of flow regions have associated with them a predetermined number of flow spaces that correlate with the associated flow region in terms of fluid mechanics in such a way that the cooling fluid flowing through the associated flow region can flow through them.

14 . The battery module according to claim 13 , wherein it is the case for at least one flow region of the plurality of flow regions that the flow spaces associated with a flow region have flowing through them only the cooling fluid flowing through the respective flow region.

15 . The battery module according to claim 13 , wherein it is the case for at least a substantial portion of the plurality of flow regions that the flow spaces associated with a flow region have flowing through them only the cooling fluid flowing through the respective flow region.

16 . The battery module according to claim 13 , wherein it is the case for all of the plurality of flow regions that the flow spaces associated with a flow region have flowing through them only the cooling fluid flowing through the respective flow region.

17 . The battery module according to claim 13 , wherein at least two of the plurality of flow regions have the same number of flow spaces respectively associated with them.

18 . The battery module according to claim 13 , wherein all of the plurality of flow regions have the same number of flow spaces respectively associated with them.

19 . The battery module according to claim 11 , wherein the flow-directing configuration comprises at least two flow-directing walls diverging, in a flow incidence direction, from the admission opening toward the plurality of battery cells.

20 . The battery module according to claim 11 , wherein the flow-directing configuration comprises at least four flow-directing walls diverging, in a flow incidence direction, from the admission opening toward the plurality of battery cells.

21 . The battery module according to claim 19 , wherein at least one of the at least two flow-directing walls has a thickness that is constant in the flow incidence direction.

22 . The battery module according to claim 21 , wherein at least one of the at least two flow-directing walls has a thickness that firstly increases in the flow incidence direction and decreases after reaching a maximum thickness.

23 . The battery module according to claim 19 , wherein at least one of the at least two flow-directing walls has a thickness that firstly increases in the flow incidence direction and decreases after reaching a maximum thickness.

24 . The battery module according to claim 11 , wherein the flow-directing configuration comprises at least two flow-directing sub-configurations that are separate from one another.

25 . The battery module according to claim 24 , wherein the at least two flow-directing sub-configurations includes a first flow-directing sub-configuration and a second flow-directing sub-configuration, the first flow-directing sub-configuration being located farther upstream in a flow incidence direction than the second flow-directing sub-configuration, the first flow-directing sub-configuration including a first flow-directing wall arrangement and the second flow-directing sub-configuration including a second flow-directing wall arrangement, the first flow-directing wall arrangement being separate from the second flow-directing wall arrangement.

26 . The battery module according to claim 25 , wherein the first flow-directing wall arrangement includes at least two first walls and the second flow-directing wall arrangement includes at least two second walls.

27 . The battery module according to claim 26 , wherein the at least two first walls having a first thickness that firstly increases in the flow incidence direction and decreases after reaching a maximum thickness, the at least two second walls having a second thickness that is constant in the flow incidence direction.

28 . A vehicle having a battery module according to claim 11 .

Assignees

• Roechling Automotive Se & Co Kg

Inventors

• Schmitt Andreas
• Humza Rana Muhammad
• Nies Juliane

Classifications

• H01M50/204

  Racks, modules or packs for multiple batteries or multiple cells · CPC title

• H01M10/6562 Primary

  with free flow by convection only · CPC title

• H01M10/613 Primary

  Cooling or keeping cold · CPC title

• B60R16/04

  Arrangement of batteries · CPC title

• H01M2/1077

  Electricity · mapped topic