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US-20260128402-A1 - BATTERY MODULE AND BATTERY SYSTEM WITH TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND FIRE PROTECTION FUNCTIONS

US20260128402A1US 20260128402 A1US20260128402 A1US 20260128402A1US-20260128402-A1

Abstract

A battery module and a battery system with temperature control and fire protection functions are provided. The battery module includes a battery tank, battery cells, and a water-cooling plate. The battery cells are arranged within the battery tank. The water-cooling plate covers the top of the battery tank. The bottom of the water-cooling plate is provided with heat conductors that respectively extend to gaps among the battery cells. The interior of the water-cooling plate is provided with a cooling channel. The bottom of the water-cooling plate is provided with an opening hole and a waterproof plug. The opening hole communicates with the cooling channel. The waterproof plug seals the opening hole. When high pressure or high heat detaches the waterproof plug from the opening hole or damages the waterproof plug, the cooling water in the cooling channel flows into the battery tank.

Inventors

  • Wei-Chen Wu

Assignees

  • ETI CA BATTERY INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250108
Priority Date
20241104

Claims (11)

  1. 1 . A battery module with temperature control and fire protection functions, comprising: a battery tank with an interior thereof accommodating an insulated cooling liquid and a top thereof having an opening; battery cells spaced in the battery tank and immersed in the insulated cooling liquid; and a water-cooling plate arranged on the top of the battery tank to cover the opening, wherein a bottom of the water-cooling plate is provided with heat conductors that respectively extend to gaps among the battery cells, an interior of the water-cooling plate is provided with a cooling channel, two opposite sides of the water-cooling plate are respectively provided with a water inlet and a water outlet, the water inlet and the water outlet communicate with the cooling channel, cooling water flows into the cooling channel from the water inlet and then flows out from the water outlet, thereby completing circulation of the cooling water, the bottom of the water-cooling plate is provided with an opening hole and a waterproof plug, the opening hole communicates with the cooling channel, the waterproof plug seals the opening hole, and when high pressure or high heat detaches the waterproof plug from the opening hole or damages the waterproof plug to expose the opening hole, the cooling water in the cooling channel flows into the battery tank through the opening hole to cool down the battery tank.
  2. 2 . The battery module with temperature control and fire protection functions according to claim 1 , wherein the battery cells are lithium-ion battery cells.
  3. 3 . The battery module with temperature control and fire protection functions according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling water is deionized water or a mixture of deionized water and antifreeze.
  4. 4 . The battery module with temperature control and fire protection functions according to claim 1 , wherein the waterproof plug is a waterproof gasket or sticker, and the gasket or the sticker breaks due to high pressure or high temperature.
  5. 5 . The battery module with temperature control and fire protection functions according to claim 1 , wherein a density of the cooling water is higher than that of the insulated cooling liquid.
  6. 6 . A battery system comprising: a plurality of the battery modules of claim 1 stacked from bottom to top, wherein the openings of the battery tanks face toward the same direction; a water inlet pipe arranged outside the battery modules, connected with the water inlets of the water-cooling plates, and configured to transmit the cooling water to the water inlets; and a water outlet pipe arranged outside the battery modules, connected with the water outlets of the water-cooling plates, and configured to receive the cooling water from the water outlets.
  7. 7 . The battery system according to claim 6 , further comprising a pump arranged outside the battery modules and connected with the water outlet pipe or the water inlet pipe, wherein the pump is configured to drive the cooling water to complete circulation of the cooling water.
  8. 8 . The battery system according to claim 6 , further comprising a main water box arranged above the battery modules, the main water box accommodates the cooling water, and two opposite sides of the main water box are respectively connected with the water outlet pipe and the water inlet pipe.
  9. 9 . The battery system according to claim 8 , further comprising a heat exchanger connected to the main water box and configured to cool the cooling water in the main water box.
  10. 10 . The battery system according to claim 8 , wherein the main water box is further provided with a reliever that communicates with an inner space of the main water box, and the reliever is configured to adjust pressure of the inner space to be lower than or equal to a given pressure.
  11. 11 . The battery system according to claim 8 , wherein the main water box is further provided with a gas filtering device arranged in an inner space of the main water box and configured to absorb toxic substances and flammable gases in the inner space.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application claims priority for the TW Application No. 113142113 filed on 4 Nov. 2024, the content of which is incorporated by reference in its entirely. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to technology for cooling batteries, particularly to a battery module and a battery system with temperature control and fire protection functions. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART Energy storage batteries require high capacity. Thus, a large number of battery cells are usually connected in series and parallel. However, the batteries are used to generate heat. To solve the temperature problem, cooling systems, such as air-cooling systems, water-cooling plates, or immersion cooling systems, are traditionally used to cool down the batteries. When the thermal runaway of a battery occurs, it is easy to cause spontaneous combustion. In addition, assembling multiple battery cells of the battery causes a chain reaction. It is not easy to extinguish the fire in a short time. However, the power supply on site is often interrupted by fire, causing the cooling system to fail. Thus, the cooling system cannot continue to cool the battery. In order to overcome the problem, other fire protection equipment such as sprinklers will be installed on site to spray the entire area and prevent the thermal runaway of a battery from affecting other areas. However, battery fires (especially lithium battery fires) are difficult to extinguish completely. Large amounts of water need to be endlessly sprayed, thereby fully controlling the fire. In addition to wasting water resources, toxic substances will flow with the water to other areas, causing serious pollution problems. Therefore, the industry is currently in urgent need of seeking a battery module and a battery system with temperature control and fire protection functions to serve as an effective fire protection measure for thermal runaway batteries, so that the various difficulties and deficiencies encountered in the prior art can be overcome. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a battery module and a battery system with temperature control and fire protection functions, which circulate the flow of cooling water in a water-cooling plate to help battery cells dissipate heat, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the temperature of the battery cells in a normal state. When the thermal runaway of the battery cell occurs, the cooling water in the water-cooling plate will flow to the battery cell, thereby achieving the fire extinguishing effect. In order to achieve the foregoing objectives, the present invention provides a battery module with temperature control and fire protection functions. The battery module includes a battery tank, battery cells, and a water-cooling plate. The interior of the battery tank accommodates an insulated cooling liquid. The top of the battery tank has an opening. The battery cells are spaced in the battery tank and immersed in the insulated cooling liquid. The water-cooling plate is arranged on the top of the battery tank to cover the opening. The bottom of the water-cooling plate is provided with heat conductors that respectively extend to gaps among the battery cells. The interior of the water-cooling plate is provided with a cooling channel. The two opposite sides of the water-cooling plate are respectively provided with a water inlet and a water outlet. The water inlet and the water outlet communicate with the cooling channel. Cooling water flows into the cooling channel from the water inlet and then flows out from the water outlet, thereby completing the circulation of the cooling water. The bottom of the water-cooling plate is provided with an opening hole and a waterproof plug. The opening hole communicates with the cooling channel. The waterproof plug seals the opening hole. When high pressure or high heat detaches the waterproof plug from the opening hole or damages the waterproof plug to expose the opening hole, the cooling water in the cooling channel flows into the battery tank through the opening hole to cool down the battery tank. In an embodiment of the present invention, the battery cells are lithium-ion battery cells. In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling water is deionized water or the mixture of deionized water and antifreeze. In an embodiment of the present invention, the waterproof plug is a waterproof gasket or a sticker. The gasket or the sticker breaks due to high pressure or high temperature. The present invention also provides a battery system, which includes a plurality of the battery modules, a water inlet pipe, and a water outlet pipe. The battery modules are stacked from bottom to top. The openings of the battery tanks face toward the same direction. The water inlet pipe is arranged outside the battery modules, connected with the water inlets of the water-cooling plates, and configured to transmit the cooling water to the water inlets. The water outl