CN-121986393-A - Battery tower

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery tower including a plurality of unit cases stacked one on another. Each unit housing defines at least one unit compartment and a cooling duct thermally coupled to the at least one unit compartment. The battery tower also includes a cooling duct connector attached to two adjacent stacked cell housings to fluidly couple the cooling ducts of the two adjacent stacked cell housings.

Inventors

• M.S. palaeo

Assignees

• 卢斯摩尔有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240724

Priority Date

20230724

Claims (20)

1. 1. A battery tower (18), comprising: a plurality of unit housings (10) stacked on top of each other, each unit housing defining at least one unit compartment (14) and a cooling duct (16) thermally coupled to the at least one unit compartment, and A cooling duct connector (22) is attached to two adjacent stacked unit housings to fluidly couple the cooling ducts of the two adjacent stacked unit housings.
2. 2. The battery tower (18) of claim 1, wherein each cooling duct (16) is a substantially u-shaped cooling duct comprising a first portion (16 a) configured to flow fluid in a first direction and a second portion (16 b) configured to flow fluid in a second direction substantially opposite the first direction.
3. 3. The battery tower (18) according to claim 2, wherein the first portion (16 a) is a lower portion and the second portion (16 b) is an upper portion, and wherein the first and second portions of each cooling duct (16) extend substantially horizontally in the unit housing (10).
4. 4. A battery tower (18) according to claim 3, wherein the u-shaped cooling duct (16) of each cell housing (10) is at least partially defined by a channel (36) extending through the entire length of the cell housing and an end cap (42) blocking one end of the channel.
5. 5. The battery tower (18) of any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the cooling duct connector (22) fluidly couples a first portion (16 a) of a cooling duct of a unit housing (10) to a second portion (16 b) of a cooling duct of an adjacent stacked unit housing.
6. 6. The battery tower (18) of claim 5, wherein the cooling duct (16) and the cooling duct connector (22) together define a serpentine flow path through a plurality of adjacent stacked cell housings (10).
7. 7. The battery tower (18) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling duct (16) of the unit housing (10) extends along substantially the entire length of the or each unit compartment (14) of the respective unit housing.
8. 8. The battery tower (18) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the unit housing (10) defines a plurality of unit compartments (14).
9. 9. The battery tower (18) according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of unit compartments (14) of the unit housing (10) are defined in a stacked configuration on top of each other.
10. 10. The battery tower (18) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a plurality of cells (12), wherein each cell is located in a cell compartment (14) of the cell housing (10).
11. 11. The battery tower (18) according to claim 10, wherein the respective cells (12) are bonded into the cell compartment (14) in which they are located.
12. 12. The battery tower (18) according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the cell (12) is a pouch cell comprising a flexible skin (32) and two conductive cell terminals (24).
13. 13. The battery tower (18) according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein each unit (12) is located individually in its respective unit compartment (14).
14. 14. The battery tower (18) according to claim 13, wherein each cell compartment (14) comprises a substantially rectangular cross-sectional profile at least partially defined by three cell compartment walls (26), and wherein the cells (12) located in the respective cell compartment are surrounded by the cell compartment on at least three sides.
15. 15. The battery tower (18) according to claim 14, wherein each cell wall (26) is thermally coupled to the cooling duct (16) of the respective cell housing (10).
16. 16. The battery tower (18) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling duct (16) of each unit housing (10) is at least partially defined by one or more duct walls (28), and wherein each unit compartment (14) defined by a respective unit housing is at least partially defined by a duct wall.
17. 17. The battery tower (18) according to claim 16, wherein each unit compartment (14) defined by a respective unit housing (10) is at least partially defined by the same duct wall (28).
18. 18. The cell tower (18) of claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the or each conduit wall (28) comprises a thermally conductive material having a thermal conductivity of at least 150W/(mK).
19. 19. The battery tower (18) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the unit housing (10) comprises a single integral component defining each of the unit compartment (14) and the cooling duct (16).
20. 20. The battery tower (18) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the battery tower comprises three or more unit housings (10) stacked one on top of the other, and wherein the cooling duct connector (22) is attached to each of the stacked unit housings to fluidly couple the cooling duct (16) of an adjacent stacked unit housing.

Description

Battery tower Technical Field The present invention relates to a battery tower comprising a stack of unit housings and a connector fluidly coupling cooling ducts of adjacent stacked unit housings, and to a battery pack comprising a plurality of such battery towers. Background The growing interest in using renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels has led to the development of many new electrical products. For example, automobiles, trains, heating systems, and household products may all be electrically powered. In some cases it may be advantageous for the electrical product to be driven at least partially by the electrochemical cell. A battery typically includes a plurality of cells that are electrically connected to one another in some manner. While batteries have many advantages, there are still some technical challenges. For example, charging and discharging a battery cell may result in a temperature change of the corresponding cell. Over time, such fluctuations in cell temperature may lead to changes in resistance, loss of charge or discharge performance, and mechanical stress, and thus may be detrimental to the life of the cell. Therefore, managing the temperature of the unit in use is an important consideration. Furthermore, battery cells often contain chemicals and thus require protection from damage for safe use. Finally, batteries may be used in space-constrained applications, and space-efficient battery cell arrangements and temperature management solutions may therefore be advantageous in many cases. It is against this background that the present invention has been developed. Disclosure of Invention According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery tower including a plurality of unit cases stacked one on another. Each unit housing defines at least one unit compartment and a cooling duct thermally coupled to the at least one unit compartment. The battery tower also includes a cooling duct connector attached to two adjacent stacked cell housings to fluidly couple the cooling ducts of the two adjacent stacked cell housings. In use, the cooling conduit preferably comprises a cooling fluid. Thus, the battery tower may be referred to as a fluid cooled battery tower. The cooling fluid may comprise a cooling liquid. For example, the cooling fluid may comprise water or a water-based cooling liquid. Thus, the battery tower is advantageously configured to both hold (i.e., secure) one or more battery cells in use and to provide cooling for the battery cells held by the cell housing. Thus, the battery tower facilitates efficient cooling and a space-efficient means for supporting and organizing the plurality of cells. In addition, the cell housing, in particular the cell compartment, may help to protect the cells in the cell tower. The battery towers facilitate management of the temperature of the cells held within the cell compartments of the respective cell housings. In particular, in an advantageous example, the battery tower comprises a unit housing featuring a unit compartment and an integrated cooling duct. Thus, cooling is provided at least in part by the same components that hold the unit in place. Thus, in some examples, the battery tower may be referred to as a bulk cooled battery tower. Although reference is primarily made herein to cooling units in unit housings, it should be understood that the apparatus described herein is primarily configured to facilitate heat transfer between the units and cooling conduits of the respective unit housings (i.e., cooling fluid in the cooling conduits, in use). Thus, the battery towers described herein facilitate temperature management of the cells in the cell compartments, i.e., cooling and heating the cells. Cooling of the unit is described in more detail throughout but as another example, in use, the unit held in the unit compartment may also be heated by providing fluid in the cooling duct at a higher temperature than the unit in the unit compartment. In such an example, the heating fluid in the cooling duct may supply heat to the unit housing, and in particular to the unit compartment via conduction through the unit housing, thereby supplying heat to the respective ones of the unit compartments. Thus, references herein to cooling conduits may be understood to also refer more generally to fluid conduits, and references herein to cooling fluids may be understood to also refer more generally to fluids than just cooling fluids. The provision of heating and cooling the unit may be advantageous to maintain the temperature of the unit within a safe and/or optimal temperature range, thereby improving the performance and/or extending the lifetime of the unit. Thermal coupling of the one or more unit compartments and the cooling duct of the unit housing facilitates thermal energy (i.e., heat) transfer between the one or more unit compartments and the cooling duct of the respective unit housing. The unit compartments of the unit housing