WO2005109545A1

WO2005109545A1 - Battery case

Info

Publication number: WO2005109545A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/001423
Authority: WO
Inventors: Se-Woong Oh; Bong-Ki Park; Tae-Sin Kim
Original assignee: SAEBANG BATTERY CO Ltd
Current assignee: SAEBANG BATTERY CO Ltd
Priority date: 2004-05-08
Filing date: 2004-06-15
Publication date: 2005-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 2006-11-08
Also published as: KR20050107169A

Abstract

A battery case for effectively dissipating the heat from 36V car batteries is disclosed. The battery case comprises an electrolytic bath having a plurality of compartments, and a lid covering the top of the electrolytic bath. The compartments are defined by a central partition and a plurality of cell partitions arranged perpendicular to the central partition. The electrolytic bath is provided with a plurality of vertical through-holes and a transversal through-hole for dissipating the heat. The vertical and transversal through-holes pass through the electrolytic bath in a vertical and transversal direction respectively, and are inter-connected. The lid is provided with a plurality of upper openings, the positions of which correspond to those of the vertical through-holes. The battery case is placed on a tray and mounted in the engine room of vehicles. A plurality of lower openings is formed on the tray, the positions of which correspond to those of the vertical through-holes.

Description

Description BATTERY CASE Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates generally to a battery case, particularly to a battery cases for effectively dissipating the heat generated from a 36V car-battery. Background Art

[2] In general, a 12V car-battery has a case including an electrolytic bath with its top opened and an upper lid covering the opened top. The electrolytic bath is partitioned into six compartments. Each compartment is filled with electrolyte and has a cell (a group of electrode plates) inserted therein. The car-battery A pair of terminals is connected to the cells. The car battery as structured above is placed on a tray and mounted in the engine room.

[3] However, the conventional 12V battery cannot supply enough electric power to effectively cope with a trend toward increased amount of consumed power due to an increase in the number of electronic equipment in the car and the higher grade in their quality and functions. Therefore, A 36V car-battery has been proposed, and the development and commercialization of 36V batteries have been extensively attempted. The 36V battery is structured to have eighteen cells connected in series, in contrast with the six cells in the conventional 12V-battery structure. Thus, as compared to the conventional 12V car-battery, the 36V car-battery can be easily heated up during charging and discharging thereof, due to the higher number of cells and their congregated structure. Particularly, the center portion of the 36V battery may be heated up to around 80 ° C, and thus the electrolyte filled therein is also heated likewise, thereby significantly deteriorating the performance and lifespan of the battery, along with danger of explosion.

[4] The conventional technique for cooling the car battery is exemplified by Korean Patent No. 292222, in which polyethylene foam is interposed between electrolyte and the battery case such that the heat produced from the engine can be absorbed by the polyethylene foam. With this technique in the prior art, the heat generated from the engine may be released, but dissipation of the heat caused by the electrolyte of high- temperature cannot be achieved. Also, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1998-62965 discloses a technique for releasing the heat of the battery by providing plural cooling fins to the outer faces of the battery case, together with injection of cooling water into the case. However, this approach leads to the complexity of the case structure and assembling procedures, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost. Disclosure

[5] Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a battery case in which the heat generated from 36V car batteries can be effectively dissipated.

[6] To accomplish the above object, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a battery case capable of being used in car batteries, particularly in 36V car batteries. The battery case includes an electrolytic bath having an open top and a plurality of compartments, and a lid for covering the top of the electrolytic bath. The compartments are defined by a central partition and a plurality of partitions arranged perpendicular to the central partition. The electrolytic bath is provided with a plurality of vertical through-holes formed by the central partition for dissipating the heat and a transversal through-hole for dissipating the heat. The vertical and transversal through- holes pass through the electrolytic bath in a vertical and transversal direction, respectively, and are inter-connected. The lid is provided with a plurality of upper openings, the positions of which correspond to those of the vertical through-holes.

[7] Preferably, the battery case is placed on a tray and mounted in the engine room of vehicles. A plurality of lower openings is formed on the tray, the positions of which correspond to those of the vertical through-holes.

[8] According to the present invention, the heat generated from the high-temperature electrolyte can be effectively dissipated in a vertical and transversal direction through a plurality of through-holes, which especially are structured to pass through the high temperature area of the battery. Therefore, the performance and lifespan of the batteries can be significantly improved. The structure for heat-release may be integrally formed with the electrolytic bath, and thus separate parts for heat-dissipation are not required, thereby increasing productivity and reducing the manufacturing cost of the battery case. Description of Drawings

[9] Further objects and advantages of the invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[10] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the battery case according to one embodiment of the invention;

[11] Fig. 2 is a top plan view showing an electrolytic bath of the battery case shown in Fig. 1;

[12] Fig. 3 is a top plan showing a lid of the battery case according to one embodiment of the invention;

[13] Fig. 4 depicts a tray for the use in the battery case of the invention;

[14] Fig. 5 is a graph showing the compared heat generation of the 36V batteries to which the battery case of the invention and the conventional case are applied, respectively;

[15] Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating a method of accelerated lifespan test for the battery case of the invention and conventional art; and

[16] Fig. 7 shows the result of the test in Fig. 6. Best Mode

[17] Referring to the accompanying drawings, the embodiments according to the present invention are described in detail hereafter. The same reference numerals are used in different figures to denote similar or identical components.

[18] Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a battery case according to one embodiment of the invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the battery case of the invention comprises an electrolytic bath 10 and a lid 30 for covering the upper portion of the electrolytic bath.

[19] Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the battery case shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the electrolytic bath 10 takes a box-shaped structure with the top thereof opened, for example, a rectangular box. The inside of the electrolytic bath 10 is partitioned into plural compartments 16 by a central partition 12 and plural cell partitions 14 formed perpendicularly to the central partition 12. In this embodiment, eighteen (18) compartments are illustrated for the use in 36V batteries, but not limited thereto. A group of electrode plates will be inserted into each compartment 16.

[20] As shown in Fig. 2, the battery case of this embodiment is provided with a plurality of vertical through-holes 20 formed by the central partition 12. The through-holes 20 pass through the electrolytic bath 10 in a vertical direction such that the heat generated from the 36V battery can be effectively dissipated upwardly and downwardly through the vertical through-holes 20. In this embodiment, seven (7) through-holes are illustrated, but not limited thereto. As shown in Fig. 1, the battery case of the invention includes a transversal through-hole 22, which passes through the electrolytic bath 10 transversally and is inter-connected with the vertical through-holes 20. Therefore, the heat produced by the 36V battery can be effectively released horizontally through the transversal through-hole 22.

[21] According to the invention, the electrolytic bath 10 is preferably integrally formed of synthetic resin, to enhance productivity due to a reduction in the molding and assembling time of the battery case. [22] Fig. 3 illustrates a top plan of the lid of the battery case according to one embodiment of the invention. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the lid 30 is provided with plural upper openings 32, the positions of which correspond to those of the vertical through-holes 20 such that the upward dissipation of the heat through the vertical through-holes 20 can be effectively carried out.

[23] Fig. 4 depicts a tray 40 for the use in the battery case of the invention. The battery is placed on the tray 40 and mounted in the engine room. According to one embodiment of the invention, the tray 40 is provided with a plurality of lower openings 42, the positions of which correspond to those of the vertical through-holes. Therefore, the heat from the electrolytic bath 10 can be effectively released through the lower openings 42 downwardly via the vertical through-holes 20.

[24] The operation and advantages of the battery case of the invention will be described in detail below.

[25] As described above, the temperature of the 36V battery will be increased due to the heat generated from the electrolyte filled in the electrolytic bath 10 during the charging/discharging of the battery. Particularly, the center portion of the bath 10 can rise up to around 80 ° C. In the battery case of the present invention, however, the heat from the electrolyte can be effectively dissipated in a vertical and transversal direction through the vertical through-holes 20 formed by the central partition 12, the transversal through-hole 22 formed perpendicularly to the vertical through-hole 20, and the upper openings 32 of the lid 30 and the lower openings 42 of the tray 40, both of which correspond to the vertical through-hole 20.

[26] Fig. 5 is a graph showing a comparison between the heat generations of the 36V batteries to which the battery case of the invention and the conventional case are applied, respectively. As shown in Fig. 5, due to the effective discharge of the heat through the through-holes 20 and 22, the temperature of the center portion in the battery case of the invention has been found to be reduced to about 55 ° C, as compared to about 80 ° C in the conventional battery case.

[27] As described above, the battery case of the invention is able to significantly improve the lifespan of the battery by effectively dissipating the heat caused by the high temperature of the electrolytic bath, which adversely affects the lifespan of the batteries. Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating a method of accelerated lifespan test for the battery case of the invention and the conventional art.

[28] That is, an accelerated lifespan test of PSOC (Partial State of Charge) has been carried out in a simulation manner, applying the running test of the mild hybrid vehicle where the 36 battery and an internal combustion engine are mounted. Fig. 7 shows the result of the test in Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 7, it has been found that the battery case of the invention makes a great contribution to improvement in the lifespan of the 36V batteries, i.e., more than 3 times the conventional batteries. Industrial Applicability

[29] As described above, according to the present invention, the heat generated from the high-temperature electrolyte can be effectively dissipated in a vertical and transversal direction through a plurality of through-holes, which especially are structured to pass through the high temperature area of the battery. Therefore, the performance and lifespan of the batteries can be significantly improved. The structure for heat-release may be integrally formed with the electrolytic bath, and thus separate parts for heat- dissipation are not required, thereby increasing productivity and reducing the manufacturing cost of the battery case.

[30] While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

[1] 1. A battery case comprising: an electrolytic bath having an open top and a plurality of compartments, the compartments being defined by a central partition and a plurality of cell partitions arranged perpendicular to the central partition; and a lid for covering the top of the electrolytic bath, wherein the electrolytic bath includes a plurality of vertical through-holes and a transversal through-hole for dissipating the heat generated from the electrolytic bath, the vertical through-holes being formed by the central partition and passing through the electrolytic bath vertically, the transversal through-hole passing through the electrolytic bath transversally and being connected with the vertical through-hole; and wherein the lid includes a plurality of upper openings formed thereon, the positions of the upper openings corresponding to those of the vertical through- holes.

[2] 2. A battery case according to claim 1, further comprising a tray where the battery case is placed and which is mounted in the engine room of vehicles, wherein a plurality of lower openings are formed on the tray, the positions of which correspond to those of the vertical through-holes of the electrolytic bath.