DE-102016210530-B4 - Cooling device

Abstract

Cooling device (2) for a battery (4) of a motor vehicle with a cooling channel (12) arranged between a surface (16) of the battery (4) to be cooled and a counter bearing (10, 22a), - wherein the surface to be cooled (16) and the counter bearing (10, 22a) are spaced apart from each other in a z-direction and the cooling channel (12) has a bottom surface (22a) oriented towards the counter bearing (10, 22a) and a top surface (20a) oriented towards the battery (4), - wherein the cooling channel (12) is formed in two parts with a first profile part (20) and a second profile part (22), - wherein the first profile part (20) having the cover surface (20a) is made of a metal, - wherein the second profile part (22) having the base surface (22a) is made of a plastic, and - wherein the cooling channel (12) can be expanded by at least a partial expansion of the second profile part (22) in the z-direction, so that the cooling channel (12) in the expanded state is in contact with the counter bearing (10, 22a) with its bottom surface (22a) and with the top surface (20a) with the surface (16) to be cooled.

Inventors

• Philip Rättich
• Nicolas Flahaut

Assignees

• BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20160614

Claims (6)

1. Cooling device (2) for a battery (4) of a motor vehicle with a cooling channel (12) arranged between a surface (16) of the battery (4) to be cooled and a counter support (10, 22a), wherein the surface (16) to be cooled and the counter support (10, 22a) are spaced apart from each other in a z-direction and the cooling channel (12) has a bottom surface (22a) oriented towards the counter support (10, 22a) and a top surface (20a) oriented towards the battery (4), wherein the cooling channel (12) is formed in two parts with a first profile part (20) and a second profile part (22), wherein the first profile part (20) having the top surface (20a) is made of a metal, wherein the second profile part (22) having the bottom surface (22a) is made of a plastic, and wherein the cooling channel (12) is formed by at least partial expansion of the second profile part (22) in is expandable in the z-direction, so that in the expanded state the cooling channel (12) is in contact with the counter bearing (10, 22a) with its bottom surface (22a) and with its top surface (20a) with the surface to be cooled (16).
2. Cooling device (2) according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the cooling channel (12) is through which a cooling medium flows during operation, wherein the cooling channel (12) is designed such that it is expanded by the pressure of the cooling medium.
3. Cooling device (2) according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that at least the second profile part (22) of the cooling channel (12) consists of a stretchable or foldable plastic material.
4. Cooling device (2) according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , characterized in that the two profile parts (20, 22) overlap in the z-direction.
5. Cooling device (2) according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , characterized in that the two profile parts (20, 22) are designed as U-profiles, wherein the first profile part (20) having the cover surface (20a) covers the second profile part (22) in such a way that outer surfaces of the second profile part (22) are in contact with the inner surfaces of the first profile part (20).
6. Cooling device (2) according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 , characterized in that the counter bearing (22a) is formed by a bottom surface (22a) of a further cooling channel (12) which has a further cover surface (20a) which abuts a further surface (16) to be cooled of a further battery (4).

Description

The invention relates to a cooling device for a motor vehicle battery with a cooling channel arranged between a surface of the battery to be cooled and a counter-support, wherein the surface to be cooled and the counter-support are spaced apart from each other in a z-direction and the cooling channel has a bottom surface oriented towards the counter-support and a top surface oriented towards the battery. Electrically powered motor vehicles, such as electric or hybrid vehicles, typically include an electric motor that drives one or both axles. For the purpose of supplying electrical energy, the electric motor is typically coupled to an in-vehicle (high-voltage) battery as an electrical energy storage device. Such batteries are, for example, designed as accumulators, whereby several individual batteries or (battery) cells are typically connected modularly to form a common battery system (cell pack) to generate a sufficiently high operating voltage. Such a battery system is, for example, made up of the DE 10 2013 225 521 A1 known. To improve range, lifespan, and available performance, it is necessary for each battery to maintain a certain operating temperature. It is essential that the individual batteries within the battery system maintain as similar a temperature as possible. In other words, a minimal temperature gradient within the battery system is desirable. For this purpose, it is possible to thermally couple the battery, or each battery, to a cooling line or cooling channel of a vehicle cooling circuit. For this, for example, a surface of the battery to be cooled is brought into thermal contact with a contact surface or cover of the associated cooling channel, thereby enabling heat exchange between the battery and a cooling medium flowing through the cooling channel. To ensure effective and consistent heat exchange, the cover surface of the cooling channel must be in contact with the battery surface to be cooled as closely and securely as possible. The cooling channel is typically located in a gap between the battery surface to be cooled and a fixed support. This support is, for example, a housing wall of the battery system's casing and/or an intermediate space between the surfaces to be cooled of two adjacent batteries. The gap in this area can vary due to manufacturing tolerances within the battery system. In other words, the individual batteries in the system each have a different distance (in the z-direction) from their respective support. However, to ensure reliable and safe temperature control of the batteries, the cover surface must always be flush with the respective battery. Therefore, it is desirable to use cooling devices that compensate for or bridge such manufacturing tolerances. To ensure consistent, even cooling, it is conceivable, for example, to bond the cooling channel to the battery surface to be cooled using a material-bonded connection in the area of the cover. This connection can be achieved simply by adhesive bonding, although this requires a comparatively high manufacturing precision in the battery system. Furthermore, an adhesive layer between the cover and the surface to be cooled can impair heat transfer. To compensate for manufacturing tolerances, a spring element can be positioned between the counter bearing and a base surface of the cooling channel. This spring element extends along the cooling channel like a rail. The spring element thus supports the cooling channel against the counter bearing. Due to the spring force, the cooling channel—and therefore the cover surface—is pressed against the surface of the battery to be cooled, so that manufacturing tolerances in the gap area can be at least partially compensated for by the spring's elasticity. A disadvantage of using such spring rails is that they increase the overall weight of the battery system, both due to the weight of the spring rail itself and the required rigidity of the supporting counter bearing. Furthermore, this increases the manufacturing costs of the battery system, as the spring rails add to the overall cost. Finally, high manufacturing precision of the cooling channel, the spring rail, and the counter bearing is necessary to ensure a uniformly applied contact force. From the DE 10 2011 102 765 A1 A cooling device for a battery system is known in which a mounting foam is introduced as an expansion agent between a counter bearing and the bottom surface of a cooling channel. The foam-like expansion agent has a first volume in its initial state and a volume that is larger than the initial volume in its expanded state. The volume increase of the expansion agent after its introduction This creates a homogeneous contact pressure, which brings the cooling channel into contact with the battery system. However, the introduction and expansion of the expansion agent requires additional manufacturing steps during the production and/or assembly of the battery system, thus adversely increasing the assembly effort and man