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EP-4681275-B1 - BATTERY HOUSING FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY OF BATTERY COMPONENTS, BATTERY COMPRISING A BATTERY HOUSING AND BATTERY SYSTEM COMPRISING A COOLING FLUID RESERVOIR AND A HEAT EXCHANGER DEVICE

EP4681275B1EP 4681275 B1EP4681275 B1EP 4681275B1EP-4681275-B1

Inventors

  • Mimberg, Gero
  • HELMIG, RAIMUND
  • LENZ, STEFAN

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240516

Claims (15)

  1. Battery housing (1) for receiving a plurality of battery components (3, 4), having - a first battery housing component (10); - a second battery housing component (20); and - at least one battery component holder (30) having a plurality of receiving cavities (31) for receiving the battery components (3, 4), - wherein the receiving cavities (31) each have an inner wall (311) which extends from a first opening (312) of the respective receiving cavity (31) to a second opening (313) of the respective receiving cavity (31), and - wherein the at least one battery component holder (30) is sandwiched between the first battery housing component (10) and the second battery housing component (20) and is connected to each of them such that the respective first openings (312) each face the first battery housing component (10), and the respective second openings (313) each face the second battery housing component (20), wherein the battery housing (1) is characterized by the following feature: - the inner walls (311) of the respective receiving cavities (31) each have at least one groove (40) extending from the first opening (312) to the second opening (313), so that, when a battery component (3, 4) is inserted into the receiving cavity (31), a respective cooling fluid channel (50) is formed which extends from the first opening (312) of the receiving cavity (31) to the second opening (313) of the receiving cavity (31) and is delimited by the groove (40) and the battery component (3, 4).
  2. Battery housing (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one groove (40) along its longitudinal extension (42) has a varying groove depth (41).
  3. Battery housing (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the groove depth (41) of the at least one groove (40) varies stepwise along its longitudinal extension (42).
  4. Battery housing (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the at least one groove (40) in the region of the first opening (312) of the receiving cavity (31) has a first groove depth (411) that is smaller than a second groove depth (412) in the region of the second opening (313) of the receiving cavity (31).
  5. Battery housing (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the first groove depth (411) is between 0.1 mm and 1 mm, preferably is 0.3 mm, and in that the second groove depth (412) is between 0.5 mm and 2 mm, preferably is 0.8 mm.
  6. Battery housing (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the at least one groove (40) has the first groove depth (411) over a longitudinal extension of 1 mm to 8 mm, preferably over a longitudinal extension of 2 mm.
  7. Battery housing (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner walls (311) of the respective receiving cavities (31) each have at least one crush rib (60) extending from the first opening (312) in the direction of the second opening (313), so that, when a battery component (3, 4) is inserted into the receiving cavity (31), the crush rib (60) is deformed, and the battery component (3, 4) is held without play in the receiving cavity (31).
  8. Battery housing (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the at least one crush rib (60) extends from the first opening (312) of the receiving cavity (31) over a length of 5 mm to 15 mm, preferably 7 mm, in the direction of the second opening (313) of the receiving cavity (31).
  9. Battery housing (1) according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the at least one crush rib (60) has a height extension of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, preferably 0.3 mm.
  10. Battery housing (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following features: - the first battery housing component (10) has a structured inner support surface (11) with a plurality of protrusions (111); and - the plurality of protrusions (111) are arranged opposite the plurality of first openings (312) of the respective receiving cavities (31) of the at least one battery component holder (30) so that, when battery components (3, 4) are inserted into the receiving cavities (31), the battery components rest upon the respective protrusions (111).
  11. Battery housing (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following features: - the first battery housing component (10) has a circumferential inner wall contour (12) that corresponds to an outer wall contour (32) of the at least one battery component holder (30); and - the at least one battery component holder (30) is connected to the first battery housing component (10) such that the outer wall contour (32) of the at least one battery component holder (30) conforms to the inner wall contour (12) of the first battery housing component (10).
  12. Battery housing (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following features: - the battery housing (1) has at least one cooling fluid inlet (70) for supplying a cooling fluid to a receiving volume (2) of the battery housing (1); - the battery housing (1) has at least one cooling fluid outlet (80) for discharging the cooling fluid from the receiving volume (2) of the battery housing (1); - the at least one cooling fluid inlet (70) is in fluidic connection with the respective first openings (312) of the at least one battery component holder (30); and - the at least one cooling fluid outlet (80) is in fluidic connection with the respective second openings (313) of the at least one battery component holder (30).
  13. Battery housing (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that the at least one cooling fluid inlet (70) and/or the at least one cooling fluid outlet (80) is/are formed in the first battery housing component (10).
  14. Battery (5) having a battery housing (1) according to one of the preceding claims and having a plurality of battery components (3, 4) designed as battery cells (4) and/or as battery modules and inserted into the receiving cavities (31) of the at least one battery component holder (30).
  15. Battery system (6), having: - a battery (5) with a battery housing (1) according to claim 12 and with a plurality of battery components (3, 4) designed as battery cells (4) and/or as battery modules and inserted into the receiving cavities (31) of the at least one battery component holder (30); - a cooling fluid storage container (90) which is fluidically connected to the at least one cooling fluid inlet (70) via a fluid inlet line (100) for supplying cooling fluid to the receiving volume (2) of the battery housing (1); and - a heat exchanger device (110) which is fluidically connected to the at least one cooling fluid outlet (80) by means of a fluid outlet line (120) for discharging the cooling fluid from the receiving volume (2) of the battery housing (1), wherein the heat exchanger device (110) is fluidically connected to the cooling fluid storage container (90) for supplying liquid cooling fluid.

Description

The present invention relates to a battery housing for accommodating a plurality of battery components. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a battery comprising a battery housing and a battery system with a coolant reservoir and a heat exchanger. Batteries, especially high-performance batteries such as those used as traction batteries for motor vehicles, handle high power outputs during charging and discharging. These batteries can already operate at voltages of several hundred volts. Furthermore, charging and discharging currents of several hundred amperes are already common. The power requirements for such batteries will increase even further in the future. These high power consumptions lead to already high, and will continue to increase, thermal losses within the battery during charging and discharging. To protect the batteries from thermal damage and to achieve high charging and discharging efficiency, it is crucial to maintain the batteries within a defined temperature range. This requires cooling the battery by dissipating the heat generated by thermal losses. Various cooling methods are known from the prior art. Fundamentally, these different types of cooling can be distinguished based on the heat transfer medium and the nature of the heat transfer between the heat transfer medium and the battery components. For example, liquid cooling can be achieved using a heat exchanger through which a liquid heat transfer medium flows. The heat exchanger is usually located beneath the battery components, with a thermally conductive contact heat transfer between the heat exchanger and the battery components. The sensitive heat capacity of the liquid heat transfer medium is used to absorb heat emitted by the battery components or the battery itself via a temperature difference and dissipate it either directly to the environment or via a cooling circuit. Electrically conductive liquids or liquid mixtures are typically used as the heat transfer medium. A disadvantage of these cooling systems is that the heat transfer medium must under no circumstances come into direct contact with the electrically conductive battery components. This leads to stringent sealing requirements for the battery housing and thus to increased manufacturing costs for the battery housing. Another disadvantage is the increased thermal resistance of the heat transfer between the battery components and the heat transfer medium due to the additional heat exchanger required. Finally, the contact heat transfer between the heat exchanger and the battery components, which is usually limited to only one point on the battery components, most often the base of the battery components, is disadvantageous. This can lead to an inhomogeneous temperature distribution within the battery components. As a further development of liquid cooling with a heat exchanger in contact with the battery components, the liquid heat transfer medium can be cooled by absorbing heat in the The heat exchanger evaporates, leading to higher heat transfer rates and, due to the enthalpy of vaporization, a high heat absorption per unit mass of the heat transfer medium. After condensation, the heat transfer medium can be returned to the heat exchanger in its liquid state. However, the disadvantages of high sealing requirements, the still elevated thermal resistance of the heat transfer between the battery components and the heat transfer medium, and the locally limited heat transfer remain. When cooling with air as the heat transfer medium, the battery components can be in direct contact with the heat transfer medium and, for example, be surrounded by it. This eliminates the need for an additional heat exchanger. However, a disadvantage of this cooling system is the limited heat absorption capacity of air as a heat transfer medium. The resulting heat absorption limits are insufficient for the requirements described above, such as those for high-performance batteries in motor vehicles. Finally, two-phase immersion cooling systems represent a current state-of-the-art development. Similar to using air as a heat transfer medium, cooling occurs via a direct flow of a liquid heat transfer medium around the components to be cooled. An important property of the liquid heat transfer medium is therefore its dielectricity, as the heat transfer medium is in direct contact with the battery components, i.e., with electrically conductive and potential-carrying components. Furthermore, in addition to the high heat transfer through the direct flow around the components to be cooled, the dielectric liquid heat transfer medium also utilizes its enthalpy of vaporization and the associated high heat absorption capacity when the heat transfer medium evaporates due to the heat input from the battery cells being cooled during the heat transfer process. A disadvantage of such cooling systems is the often high technical complexity and the additional equipment required to implement active circulation o