Description:BATTERY MODULE WITH THERMAL MANAGEMENT AND STACKING ARRANGEMENT FOR ASSEMBLING FIRE RETARDANT BATTERY PACK
Field of the invention:
The present invention generally relates to a battery module for assembling a battery pack/ energy storage system and more particularly the present invention relates a stackable battery module having inbuilt thermal management system wherein a fire retarding coolant is in direct contact with the batteries.
Background of the invention:
The battery pack is mainly comprised of the unit cells, cell holding structures, busbars, electronics, and thermal management systems. The concerned invention focuses on two aspects mainly the immersive thermal management systems and the stackable mechanical structure. Maintaining the temperature of the batteries within the 25-35°C ensures safety and long life of the batteries. In hot climatic areas wherein, the ambient temperature is above 45°C and the batteries are getting discharged/charged at high current rates, tremendous heat is produced which if not extracted can result in rapid rise in temperature of cells leading to hazardous consequences. Also in extreme cold environment, if the batteries are charged without prior heating them to 25-35°C it accelerates the phenomenon of Lithium plating inside the cell which can eventually lead to internal short circuit and thermal runaway of the cells leading to fire incidents. Therefore, a thermal management system is required to be integrated into the battery which shall heat the cells in case of the extreme cold climate and cool the cells in case of extreme hot climate. As discussed in the prior art there many techniques and strategies already exist in the market for thermal management of the batteries. There are varied thermal management strategies for maintaining the battery pack temperature within the 25-35°C. Based on the working fluid used, there are air based thermal management systems wherein air is the working fluid for heat extraction/addition whereas in liquid cooling systems, a liquid coolant is the working fluid for heat extraction/addition. There are also Direct Expansion (DX) based thermal management system wherein the refrigerant is the working fluid, and the heat extraction/addition takes places through the phase change process of the refrigerant. All the thermal management systems mentioned above need an active power source such as fans and pumps and thereby termed as active thermal management systems. There are passive thermal management systems like Heat Pipes, Phase Change Material (PCM) based thermal management systems wherein there is no major power consuming components. Within the liquid based thermal management systems there are different types based on the type of coolant used i.e. primary and secondary coolant and the type of contact the coolant i.e. direct and indirect contact between the coolant and the target body from which heat needs to extracted/added.
In the primary liquid thermal management systems, the primary coolant i.e. refrigerant is used directly to extract/add heat into the battery. The refrigerant is directly passed through aluminum cold plates whereas in case of secondary thermal management, the refrigerant first cools a secondary coolant like water-ethylene glycol or dielectric oil and this secondary coolant then circulates inside the cold plates which are in thermal contact with the battery for heat extraction/addition. In case of direct cooling, the coolant is mainly a dielectric oil which extracts/adds heat to the plurality of the cells. In direct liquid cooling the target body i.e. the unit cells is immersed in the bath of the dielectric oil and is also termed as immersive thermal management system. Incase of indirect cooling, an intermediate heat exchanger which is typically termed as the Cold Plate. The Coolant is passed through the cold plate and the target body is placed in thermal contact with the Cold Plate, thereby making the heat flow path from target body to coolant via the cold plate. These thermal management strategies are decided by the loading conditions, applications, geographical locations wherein the battery packs shall be used and cost economics. Accordingly, the internal arrangement of the cell holders, busbars, wire harness and electronics is designed, and these mechanical, thermal and electronic subsystems are enclosed inside casing normally termed as battery pack.
Deficiencies in the existing art: The commonly used thermal management system is with water-ethylene glycol as the coolant wherein the coolant is passed through a cold plate which is in direct thermal contact with the target body i.e. the cells in this case. The drawbacks associated in this case is the decreased thermal efficiency since in practical conditions the thermal contact between the cells and the cold plate is not perfect. Thermal interface material is added to fill these miniature air gaps between the cold plate and the cell interface. The addition of cold plates also increases the overall weight of the battery pack thereby reducing the energy density of the battery pack. Another major drawback is the aqueous nature of the water, ethylene glycol coolant. Aqueous coolants like water, ethylene glycol are good conductors of electricity. In case there is any leakage of coolant in the battery pack it may directly lead to external short circuiting of the cells which may lead to hazardous consequences. Another major drawback of the commonly used battery packs is that they lack the modularity thereby all components like the mechanical structure comprises of the cell holders, thermal management subsystem mainly the cold plates need to be redesigned every time when there is any major change in the form factor of the cells or the energy of the battery pack.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a modular and stackable battery storage system with an efficient thermal management system that overcomes the above stated drawbacks of the existing art.
Objects of the invention:
An object of the present invention is to provide an efficient thermal management system for a battery pack of stackable battery modules.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a battery module with thermal management system that can operate in extreme climatic conditions
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a battery module that maintains the battery temperature within the safe limits during the fast-charging application.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a battery module with inbuilt mounting arrangement for assembling a battery pack without external mounting plates, clamping structures, racks, and structural casing.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a battery module for assembling a battery pack with thermal management system obtaining high energy density values of upwards 200Wh/kg.
Summary of the invention
The present invention provides battery module with thermal management and stacking arrangement. The battery module is configured as a building block for assembling a fire retardant battery pack by stacking a plurality of the battery modules. The battery module comprises of a plurality of battery cells having electrode terminals thereof connected in series or in parallel using bus bars, a cell holder and an enclosure. The cell holder is provided with battery holding slots with gripping arrangement for firmly holding the plurality of battery cells therein, and an inlet zone and an outlet zone for a coolant, wherein the coolant is a fire retardant coolant. The enclosure encloses the cell holder with battery cells. A front and a rear surface of the enclosure are respectively configured to receive thermal ports (T) and electrical and electronics connections (E) thereon. The thermal ports (T) include a pressure release valve and two coolant ports for circulating the coolant inside the cell holder. The electrical and electronics connections (E) include two external electrical terminals connected to the bus bars, a cell monitoring unit and a connector for connecting the battery module. The cell monitoring unit monitors the voltages of the plurality of battery cells and the flow of the coolant through the cell holder. The cell monitoring unit is in operable communication with the plurality of battery cells and with a master battery management unit of the battery pack.
The cell holder is provided with a bifurcation wall, a flow bending zone, and a network of coolant passages and guided gateways for channelizing the coolant evenly across each of the battery cell and for keeping each of the battery cell continuously in direct contact with the coolant. The cell holder is also provided with an arrangement for direct thermal contact of coolant with the bus bars. Further, the two side surfaces of the enclosure are provided with stacking features at regular intervals thereon forming two profiled side surfaces. The profiled side surfaces of two adjacent enclosures match to interlock with each other. The plurality of enclosures are stacked to form the battery pack of desired shape, size and energy by interlocking the profiled side surfaces of adjacent enclosures and bolting with an interlocking member. The battery modules are arranged such that the thermal ports (T) of the plurality of enclosures are arranged on one side and the electrical and electronics connections (E) of the plurality of enclosures are arranged on an opposite side. The coolant is distributed to the plurality of battery modules of the battery pack in a parallel networking manner ensuring that all the battery modules in the battery pack show same thermal behavior and the inter module temperature difference is within 2°C.
Brief description of the drawings:
The objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the disclosure is read in conjunction with the following figures, wherein
Figure 1 shows a functional block diagram of a battery pack with thermal management system, in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2A and figure 2B respectively show a front isomeric view and a back isometric view of a battery module, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 shows an exploded view of a battery module, in with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 shows a detailed view of a cell holder, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 5 shows a coolant flow path inside a battery module, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 shows a detailed view of a coolant flow path for busbar cooling, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 7 shows features for stacking provision for a battery module, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 8 shows method of stacking of battery modules, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 9 shows a battery pack as seen from a thermal side, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 10 shows a battery pack as seen from an electronic side, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
Figures 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, and 11E show arrangement of battery modules in multiple form factors to form battery packs, in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.
Figure 10 shows a battery pack with cover plate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
Detailed description of the embodiments:
The foregoing objects of the invention are accomplished, and the problems and shortcomings associated with prior art techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention described in the present embodiments.
In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details. One skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the present invention, some of which are described below, may be incorporated into a number of systems.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of "a, an," and "the" includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The present invention provides a battery pack with thermal management system wherein a coolant is channelized though a network of flow channels to uniformly extract/add heat from/to the batteries. The coolant has high dielectric strength and is in direct contact with the target body i.e. the batteries. The coolant is simultaneously channelized through the busbar section wherein the coolant extracts the heat from the busbars thereby keeping preventing it from overheating. The complete thermal circuit is embedded inside the battery module and many such modules can be connected in series and parallel to form a battery pack. The overall design of the fluid network as claimed in the invention ensures uniform cooling/heating across all the battery modules and uniform cooling/heating across of unit cells inside a module. The coolant engineered in the invention is fire retardant coolant with low viscosity and high dielectric strength. The module on its exterior side has design features for stacking with another module thereby making the battery pack highly modular.
The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. These reference numbers are shown in bracket in the following description and in the table below.

Table:
Ref No: Component Ref No: Component
1 Upper casing 22 Curved zone
2 Lower casing 23 Busbar
3 Inlet port 24 Curved zone
4 Outlet port 25 Busbar guide ways
5 Stacking feature 26, 27, 28 Gate ways
6 Cover plate 29 Flow bending zone
7 Interface line 30, 31, 32 Guide ways
8 Pressure release valve 33 Outlet zone
9, 10 Positive and negative terminals 35 Interlocking member
11 Cell Monitoring Unit 36, 37 Studs
13 Cover plate mount 50 Battery module
14 Connector 60 Cooling unit
15 Cell holder/ resin holder 62 Radiator
16 First hole 64 Coolant reservoir
17 second hole 66 Pump
18 Stopper 70 Main header line
19 Battery/ Cell 80 Main header return line
20 Groove 90 Master BMS
21 Bifurcation wall
Referring to the figures 1 to 11 a battery module (50) with thermal management and stacking arrangement in accordance with the present invention is shown. The battery module (50) is configured as a building block for assembling a fire retardant battery pack (100) of desired shape, size and energy by stacking a plurality of the battery modules (50).
Referring to figure 1, the battery modules (50a, 50b, 50c,.50n) are connected in series and parallel network of electrical connections to form a battery pack (100). The number of battery modules (50) depends upon the application of the battery pack (100). Each of the battery module (50) has inbuilt immersive liquid based thermal management circuit and a cell monitoring unit (11) for battery cell protection and balancing of voltages. The cell monitoring unit (11) is also termed as a slave battery management system (slave BMS). In figure 1, the dotted line represents the electronics line while the solid line represents the coolant line. A cooling unit (60) consists of a radiator (62), a coolant reservoir (64) and a pump (66) for recirculation of the coolant. The coolant is fire retardant in nature, thus it suppresses the fire in case any battery module (50) undergoes thermal runaway thereby making the battery pack (100) fireproof.
The coolant is of any type selected from a natural ester, a synthetic ester, a mineral oil, a silicon based oil, a fluorochemical, hydrocarbon, a natural oil, and combination thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the coolant is selected from Synthetic Polyalpha Olefins (PAO), Polyfluorocarbons (PFCs), Perfluoroapolyethers(PFPEs), Hydrofluoroethers(HFEs) and Fluoroketones (FKs). Inside the battery module (50), the coolant enters through an inlet port and channelized evenly across the unit cells and expelled through the outlet port post heat extraction/addition. The thermal networking of all the battery modules (50) is in parallel i.e., a main header line (70) is subdivided into individual coolant lines for each battery module (50). The parallel thermal networking provides uniform cooling/heating of all the battery modules (50) keeping the temperature differences between the unit cells across the modules to a minimum value. The parallel thermal networking of the battery modules (50) provides ensures that all the battery modules (50) show same thermal behavior and the inter module temperature difference is within 2°C. After heat extraction/addition by the coolant from/to the battery module (50), the header return line coming from each of the battery modules (50) interconnects to form a main return header line (80). The coolant is subsequently passed into the radiator unit (62) which comprises of a heat exchanger and fan wherein the heat extracted by the coolant/ from the coolant is expelled in/ to, thereby keeping the battery temperature within the desired limits. The cell monitoring unit (11) is integrated inside each of the battery module (50) for monitoring and balancing the voltages of the battery cells within the battery module (50). The parameters measured from the slave BMS/the cell monitoring unit (11) are communicated to the master BMS (90) through a communication module, preferably through CAN communication module.
Now referring to figures 2 to 9, the battery module (50) comprises a plurality of battery cells (19), a cell holder (15), an enclosure (40) and the cell monitoring unit (11).
The plurality of battery cells (19) is assembled in the cell holder (15) having electrode terminals thereof connected with busbars (23). The cell holder (15) is provided with battery holding slots for assembling the plurality of battery cells (19) therein, and an inlet zone and an outlet zone for a coolant. In an embodiment, the number of battery cells in one battery module ranges from 10 to 450.
The cell holder (15) is enclosed within the enclosure (40). The enclosure (40) is formed by an upper casing (1) sealingly fitted to a lower casing (2) using suitable means for fitting. In an embodiment, the upper casing (1) is fitted to the lower casing (2) with nut bolts using a bolting provision or the upper casing (1) is sealingly welded to the lower casing (2) along an interface line (7). The enclosure (40) is having a front surface, a rear surface, two side surfaces, a top surface and a bottom surface. The front and rear surfaces are respectively configured to receive thermal ports (T) and electrical and electronics connections (E) thereon. The thermal ports (T) include a pressure release valve (8) and two coolant ports (3, 4) for circulating the coolant inside the cell holder (15). The electrical and electronics connections (E) include two external electrical terminals (9, 10) connected to the bus bars (23), a cell monitoring unit (11) and a connector (14). Thus all the thermal ports (T) including two coolant ports (3, 4) and the pressure release valve (8) are on one surface of the enclosure (40), while all the electrical and electronics connections (E) including the two external electrical terminals (9, 10), the connector mount (12) and the cell monitoring unit (11) are on the opposing surface. Of the two coolant ports (3, 4) one acts as an inlet port (3) and the other as an outlet port (4). The coolant enters the battery module (50) from the inlet port (3) and exits from the outlet port (4). Pressure release valve (8) is embedded inside the upper casing (1). In case of thermal runaway event, the pressurized gases are released through the pressure release valve (8). In an embodiment, the cell holder (15) and the enclosure (40) are made of any material selected from: resin, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Nylon, UHMW (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene), Polyamide, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) and Bakelite.
The cell monitoring unit (11) is an electronic protection board that balances cell voltages, monitors temperature, does fault diagnostics and communicates the signals to the master battery management unit (90). The inputs signals required for the cell monitoring unit (11) are provided through the connector mount (12). The connector mount (12) houses the connector (14) which connects the cell monitoring unit (11) wire harness to the master BMS (90). The two external electrical terminals (9, 10) have been structured to ensure maximum cross-sectional area thereby allowing high current flow during fast charging application.
The plurality of battery cells (19) are appropriately fitted in a plurality of slots provided in the cell holder (15). A gripping arrangement (18) is provided in the battery holding slots for restricting degrees of freedom of each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells (19). Two grooves (20) are provided on one side of the cell holder (15) for mounting the busbars (23).
The cell holder (15) is provided with a network of coolant passages and guided gateways as below, for channelizing the coolant evenly across all the battery cells of the plurality of battery cells (19) within the battery module (50) for uniform cooling and heating. A bifurcation wall (21) separating the inlet zone and the outlet zone is provided within the cell holder (15) with a plurality of gateways (26, 27, 28) therein, partially allowing a section of the coolant from the inlet zone to the outlet zone. A plurality of guideways (30, 31, 32) are also provided for channelizing the section of the cooling fluid towards the plurality of gateways (26, 27, 28). Here, it is understood that the number of guideways and gateways depends upon the dimensions of the cell holder (15). In an embodiment, the number of guideways and gateways in one cell holder (15) ranges from 1 to 10. The bifurcation wall (21) separates the inlet zone and the outlet zone of the coolant inside the battery module (50). Once the coolant enters the enclosure (40), the coolant is channelized alongside the bifurcation wall (21) and the plurality of guideways (30, 31, 32). The plurality of guideways (30, 31, 32) embedded inside the cell holder (15) channelize a section of the fluid towards the plurality of gateways (26, 27, 28) respectively. A section of the coolant is passed into the outlet zone from the inlet zone through these gateway features inside the cell holder (15). Each gateway from the plurality of gateways (26, 27, 28) contains is having a variable cross section area therefore the coolant flow is evenly distributed inside the enclosure (40). The placement, angular positioning of the guideways and the variable cross section of the gateways enables uniform heat transfer across all the cells and thus the temperature uniformity across all the cells is maintained inside the battery module (50).
The cell holder (15) is further provided with a flow bending zone (29) enabling gradual bending of the coolant from the inlet zone to the outlet zone and a curved profile (22, 24) is at the ages, enabling creation of turbulent flow of the coolant.
Another major aspect of cooling is the busbar (23). During high current flow at the time of fast charging application, there is high amount of heat generation inside the busbars (23). The cell holder (15) is provided with two holes (16, 17) at the extreme corners thereof. The coolant passes in and out of these holes and is in direct thermal contact with the busbars (23). The coolant flows alongside the busbar (23) through the busbar guide ways (25) thereby extracting heat from the busbar (23) and preventing the busbar (23) to be overheated especially during the fast-charging application. The curved features (22, 24) are provided for the flow of coolant. Because of the curved features (22, 24), edges of the cell holder (15) are curved leading to creation of a turbulent flow profile thereby enabling higher heat transfer rates across the unit cells. At the flow bending zone (29) a sufficient space is kept void i.e. without any restrictions to enable gradual bending of the coolant, leading to minimum pressure loss. The coolant after heat extraction from the battery cells (19) gets accumulated at the outlet zone (33). The outlet zone (33) houses the outlet port (4) wherein the coolant is extracted out of the battery module (50).
The two side surfaces of the enclosure (40) are provided with stacking features (5). The stacking features (5) are protrusions provided with a bolting arrangement forming profiled side surfaces. The profiled side surfaces of two enclosures (40) placed adjacent to each other match to interlock with each other. For forming a battery pack, enclosures (40) of two battery modules (50a, 50b) are placed adjacent to each other and studs (36, 37) are inserted into the bolting arrangement/ holes provided on the stacking features (5). An interlocking member (35) is then inserted through the studs (36, 37) and bolted using nuts. After the interlocking is done, the two battery modules (50a, 50b) become as the bulk body and there is no independent motion or movement in between them. Similarly, several of these battery modules (50a, 50b, …50n) are interconnected to make the battery pack (100) of varying energy densities. After several of these battery packs (100) are stacked, all the thermal ports (T) are available on one side and all the electrical and electronics connections (E) are available on the other side. Once the battery pack is assembled, a cover plate (6) is fitted on surface of the electrical and electronics connections (E) using cover plate mount (13). The cover plate (6) is an insulating plate covering the live busbar section.
The arrangement of battery pack (100) allows ease of assembly during mass manufacturing. All the busbars (23) are interconnected to configure the battery module (50) in series and parallel connections. The arrangement as shown in Figure 9 enables parallel networking of the coolant lines such that the flow rate and temperature of the coolant going into each of the battery modules (50) is uniform thereby ensuring that all the battery modules (50) show same thermal behavior and the inter module temperature difference is within 2°C. Also the arrangement as shown in Figure 9 and 10 enables segregation of subsystems wherein the thermal ports (T) and electronics connections (E) are on the opposite sides whereas the battery module (50) containing the unit cells are in the middle section. The arrangement ensures ease of assembly process since there are no overlap of thermal and electronics subsystems. The stacking features (5) also serve as a lifting provision for lifting and movement of the battery module (50) during the battery assembly process.
In an embodiment, the battery modules (50a, 50b,.…50n) can be arranged in multiple form factors like Topologies shown in Figures 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E. It is understood here that the topologies shown in figures 11A to 11E are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The features of the battery module (50) makes the said battery module (50) compatible with different types of diverse application like motorboat, airplane, drones, tractors and construction equipment vehicle wherein the available space for battery fitment is very irregular in these vehicles. All the features related to stacking, electronics and thermals are inbuilt in each of the battery modules. Therefore, there is no need of external mounting plates, clamps, rack structure etc as present in the conventional battery pack thereby making the said battery lighter. The given battery module thus provides high specific energy density of upwards 200Wh/kg. The novel features of the battery module (50) enhance the life and safety of the battery packs, ensure efficient performance of the batteries in extremely hot/cold climates and enable fast charging of the batteries within 15 minutes therefore drastically reducing the waiting time required to charge the batteries of the Electric Vehicles.
Advantages of the invention:
• Fireproof batteries with the fire-retardant coolant around the cells.
• In the present invention, the parallel thermal networking provides uniform cooling/heating of all the battery modules (50) thereby ensuring the temperature non uniformity within 2°C, across all the batteries/ cells in the battery pack (100).
• The battery module (50) provides inbuilt arrangement of all the coolant channels, electronics, and stackable mechanical.
• The battery module (50) has the built in Pressure release valve (8) to vent out the smoke and gases during the event of cell puncture and accidents.
• The battery modules (50a, 50b,…50n) can be stacked in multiple orientation to build battery packs of different shapes, sizes, capacities, and cell chemistries
• Coolant channels provided across the busbars (23) enable high current operation during fast charging application.
• Battery temperature is maintained within the safe limits during the fast-charging application.
• The battery pack (100) can operate in extreme climatic conditions
• No external mounting plates, clamping structures, racks, structural casing are required for assembling the battery pack (100) therefore high energy density values of upwards 200Wh/kg are obtained.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the scope of the claims of the present invention.

, Claims:We claim:
1. A battery module (50) with thermal management and stacking arrangement, configured as a building block for assembling a fire retardant battery pack (100) by stacking a plurality of the battery modules (50), the battery module (50) comprising:
a plurality of battery cells (19);
bus bars (23) for connecting electrode terminals of the plurality of battery cells (19);
a cell holder (15) provided with battery holding slots for assembling the plurality of battery cells (19) therein, and an inlet zone and an outlet zone for a coolant, wherein the coolant is a fire retardant coolant;
an enclosure (40) for enclosing the cell holder (15), the enclosure (40) having a front surface, a rear surface, two side surfaces, a top surface and a bottom surface, the front and rear surfaces respectively configured to receive thermal ports (T) and electrical and electronics connections (E) thereon, wherein the thermal ports (T) include a pressure release valve (8) and two coolant ports (3, 4) for circulating the coolant inside the cell holder (15), the electrical and electronics connections (E) include two external electrical terminals (9, 10) connected to the bus bars (23), a cell monitoring unit (11) and a connector (14),
characterized in that,
the cell holder (15) is provided with a network of coolant passages and guided gateways for channelizing the coolant evenly across each of the battery cell (19) and for keeping each of the battery cell (19) continuously in direct contact with the coolant, and
the two side surfaces of the enclosure (40) are provided with stacking features (5) at regular intervals thereon forming two profiled side surfaces, the profiled side surfaces of two adjacent enclosures (40) matching to interlock with each other, wherein the plurality of enclosures (40) are stacked to form the battery pack (100) of desired shape, size and energy by interlocking the profiled side surfaces of adjacent enclosures (40) and bolting with an interlocking member (35), with the thermal ports (T) of the plurality of enclosures (40) arranged on one side and the electrical and electronics connections (E) of the plurality of enclosures (40) arranged on an opposite side.
2. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell holder (15) is provided with a bifurcation wall (21) separating the inlet zone and the outlet zone, the bifurcation wall (21) provided with a plurality of gateways (26, 27, 28) partially allowing the coolant from the inlet zone to the outlet zone and a plurality of guideways (30, 31, 32) for channelizing a section of the cooling fluid towards the plurality of gateways (26, 27, 28), the gateways (26, 27, 28) having variable cross section area enabling uniform distribution of the coolant.
3. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell holder (15) is provided with a flow bending zone (29) enabling gradual bending of the coolant from the inlet zone to the outlet zone.
4. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell holder (15) is provided with two holes (16, 17) provided at the extreme corners allowing the coolant to flow in and out to be in direct thermal contact with the bus bars (23).
5. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell holder (15) is provided with a curved profile (22, 24) at the ages enabling creation of turbulent flow of the coolant.
6. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the each battery holding slot of the cell holder (15) is provided with a gripping arrangement (18) for restricting degrees of freedom of each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells (19).
7. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell holder (15) is provided with grooves (20) for mounting the bus bars (23).
8. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of battery cells (19) in one battery module ranges (50) from 10 to 450.
9. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of guideways in one cell holder (15) ranges from 1 to 10.
10. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of gateways in one cell holder (15) ranges from 1 to 10.
11. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fire rertardant coolant is any one selected from: synthetic Polyalpha Olefins (PAO), Poly fluorocarbons (PFCs), Perfluoro polyethers (PFPEs), Hydrofluoro ethers (HFEs) and Fluoro ketones (FKs).
12. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell monitoring unit (11) is in operable communication with the plurality of battery cells (19) and with a master battery management unit (90) of the battery pack (100), the cell monitoring unit (11) capable of monitoring the voltages of the plurality of battery cells (19) and the flow of the coolant through the cell holder (15).
13. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell holder (15) and the enclosure (40) are of any material selected from: resin, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Nylon, UHMW (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene), Polyamide, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) and Bakelite.
14. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coolant is supplied from a coolant unit (60) and circulated through a main header line (70) and a main header return line (80).
15. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the coolant unit (60) includes a radiator (62), a coolant reservoir (64), and a pump (66).
16. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the enclosure (40) is formed by an upper casing (1) sealingly fitted to a lower casing (2).
17. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of battery cells (19) in the battery module (50) are electrically connected in series and parallel networks.
18. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of battery modules (50) in the battery pack (100) are electrically connected in series and parallel networks.
19. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main battery management unit is connected to the cell monitoring unit through the connector (14).
20. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell monitoring unit (11) is in communication with a master battery management unit (90) of the battery pack (100) through a communication module.
21. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a connector (14) is provided on the enclosure (11) for connecting the cell monitoring unit (11) with the master battery management unit (90).
22. The battery module (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coolant is distributed to the plurality of battery modules (50) of the battery pack (100) in a parallel networking manner
Dated this on 29th day of May, 2023

Ashwini Kelkar
(Agent for the applicant)
(IN/PA-2461)