US-12626971-B2 - Cooling manifold assemblies, charging modules, and charging systems

Abstract

A coolant manifold assembly is provided. The coolant manifold assembly may include a manifold body having a coolant delivering channel delivering coolant to a charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant delivering channel, and a coolant receiving channel receiving the coolant from the charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant receiving channel. The coolant manifold further include a bus bar disposed on the manifold body, the bus bar transmits power received from the charging module to a battery.

Inventors

• Yanghe Liu
• Feng Zhou
• Hiroshi UKEGAWA

Assignees

• TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220602

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A coolant manifold assembly, comprising: a manifold body defining: a coolant delivering channel fluidly coupled to a charging module for delivering coolant to the charging module, a coolant receiving channel fluidly coupled to the charging module to receive the coolant from the charging module, and an opening; a bus bar disposed on the manifold body, the bus bar transmitting power received from the charging module to a battery; and a thermal pin received in the opening of the manifold body and thermally coupling the bus bar to the coolant.
2. 2 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the manifold body extends in a longitudinal direction.
3. 3 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the coolant manifold assembly is coupled to a coolant driver to pump the coolant, and the coolant driver drives flow in a first direction through a longitudinal portion of the coolant delivering channel and drives flow in a second direction opposite to the first direction through a longitudinal portion of the coolant receiving channel.
4. 4 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the coolant receiving channel has a longitudinal portion extending longitudinally, a vertical portion extending vertically from the longitudinal portion toward a lateral portion, and the lateral portion extending toward the charging module.
5. 5 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bus bar extends longitudinally along the manifold body.
6. 6 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bus bar is electrically coupled to the charging module and the battery via one or more connectors.
7. 7 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 1 , wherein; the opening is fluidly coupled to the coolant receiving channel, and the thermal pin seals the opening.
8. 8 . A charging module, comprising: a power receiver wirelessly receiving power from a power transmitter; a rectifier electrically connected to the power receiver; a shield layer disposed between the rectifier and the power receiver and magnetically shielding the rectifier from the power receiver; and a cooler receiving and discharging coolant to remove heat from the charging module, the coolant received from a coolant manifold assembly, wherein the coolant manifold assembly comprises a manifold body defining a coolant delivering channel fluidly coupled to the charging module, a coolant receiving channel fluidly coupled to the charging module, and an opening for receiving a thermal pin, and wherein a bus bar disposed on the manifold body and thermally coupled to the coolant in the coolant manifold assembly via the thermal pin is configured to transmit power received from the charging module to a battery.
9. 9 . The charging module of claim 8 , wherein the coolant manifold assembly is coupled to a coolant driver to pump the coolant, and the coolant driver drives flow in a first direction through a longitudinal portion of the coolant delivering channel and drives flow in a second direction opposite to the first direction through a longitudinal portion of the coolant receiving channel.
10. 10 . The charging module of claim 8 , wherein the rectifier is electrically connected to the bus bar and the battery via one or more connectors.
11. 11 . The charging module of claim 8 , wherein the power receiver is a printed circuit board.
12. 12 . The charging module of claim 8 , wherein the cooler is disposed between the rectifier and the shield layer.
13. 13 . A charging system, comprising: a charging module, comprising: a power receiver wirelessly receiving power from a power transmitter, a rectifier electrically connected to the power receiver, a shield layer disposed between the rectifier and the power receiver and magnetically shielding the rectifier from the power receiver, and a cooler receiving and discharging coolant to remove heat from the charging module; and a coolant manifold assembly fluidly coupled to the cooler, the coolant manifold assembly comprising: a manifold body defining: a coolant delivering channel delivering the coolant to the charging module, and a coolant receiving channel receiving the coolant from the charging module, and an opening; a bus bar disposed on the manifold body, the bus bar transmitting power received from the charging module to a battery; and a thermal pin received in the opening of the manifold body and thermally coupling the bus bar to the coolant.
14. 14 . The charging system of claim 13 , wherein the manifold body extends in a longitudinal direction.
15. 15 . The charging system of claim 13 , wherein the coolant receiving channel has a longitudinal portion extending longitudinally, a vertical portion extending vertically from the longitudinal portion toward a lateral portion, and the lateral portion extending toward the cooler.
16. 16 . The charging system of claim 13 , wherein the coolant manifold assembly is coupled to a coolant driver to pump the coolant, and the coolant driver drives flow in a first direction through a longitudinal portion of the coolant delivering channel and drives flow in a second direction opposite to the first direction through a longitudinal portion of the coolant receiving channel.
17. 17 . The charging system of claim 13 , wherein the rectifier electrically connected to the bus bar and the battery via one or more connectors.
18. 18 . The charging system of claim 13 , wherein the cooler is disposed between the rectifier and the shield layer.
19. 19 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 1 , wherein the thermal pin is shaped and sized to correspond to the opening to seal the opening.
20. 20 . The coolant manifold assembly of claim 2 , wherein the opening of the manifold body is a vertical opening transverse to the longitudinal direction.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present specification generally relates to wireless charging systems and, more specifically, to assemblies for cooling charging modules. BACKGROUND Charging systems of electric vehicles may require increased charging efficiency in limited space. Specifically, wireless high current transmission systems for charging electric vehicles (EVs) may create heat and the limited space of EVs may require efficient cooling systems. SUMMARY In one embodiment, a coolant manifold assembly is provided. The coolant manifold assembly may include a manifold body having a coolant delivering channel delivering coolant to a charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant delivering channel, and a coolant receiving channel receiving the coolant from the charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant receiving channel. The coolant manifold assembly further include a bus bar disposed on the manifold body, the bus bar transmitting power received from the charging module to a battery. In another embodiment, a charging module is provided. The charging modules may include a rectifier electrically connected to a power receiver, the power receiver wirelessly receiving power from a power transmitter, a shield layer disposed between the rectifier and the power receiver and magnetically shielding the rectifier from the power receiver, and a cooler receiving and discharging coolant to remove heat from the charging module, the coolant received from a coolant manifold assembly. The coolant manifold assembly may include a manifold body comprising a coolant delivering channel delivering coolant to the charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant delivering channel and a coolant receiving channel receiving the coolant from the charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant receiving channel, and a bus bar disposed on the manifold body, the bus bar transmitting power received from the charging module to a battery. In yet another embodiment, a charging system is provided. The charging system may include a charging module. The charging module may include a rectifier electrically connected to a power receiver, the power receiver wirelessly receiving power from a power transmitter, a shield layer disposed between the rectifier and the power receiver and magnetically shielding the rectifier from the power receiver, and a cooler receiving and discharging coolant to remove heat from the charging module, the coolant received from a coolant manifold assembly. The charging system may further include the coolant manifold assembly. The coolant manifold assembly may include a manifold body. The manifold body may include a coolant delivering channel delivering coolant to the charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant delivering channel, and a coolant receiving channel receiving the coolant from the charging module fluidly communicating with the coolant receiving channel. The coolant manifold assembly may further include a bus bar disposed on the manifold body, the bus bar transmitting power received from the charging module to a battery. These and additional features provided by the embodiments described herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative charging system including a cooling manifold coupled to a plurality of charging modules according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative charging module and an exploded view of the same according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative cooling manifold according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 3B depicts an exploded view of the cooling manifold of FIG. 3A according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 4A depicts an exploded side view of the cooling manifold of FIG. 3A with hidden lines focusing on a coolant delivering channel and the charging module according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 4B depicts an exploded side view of the cooling manifold of FIG. 3A with hidden lines focusing on a coolant receiving channel and the charging module according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and FIG. 5 depicts a perspective view of an illustrative charging system, showing a flow of coolant flowing between the cooling manifold and the charging module according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure relates generally to c