Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to cooling of a battery pack of a battery-powered vehicle and more particularly to a system which facilitates cooling of the battery pack through the atmospheric air.
BACKGROUND
Electric automobiles are a necessity these days and the demand for it is increasing tremendously. Numerous well-known companies as well as brand-new companies are competing with one another by introducing novel concepts and features. As everyone knows, the battery is an electric vehicle's primary and most important component. Most appealing feature of the electric vehicle to any customer is a range or mileage of the vehicle and a battery pack of the vehicle is responsible for providing a promising range. The range of the vehicle depends on the size of the battery pack i.e. to provide greater range, a larger battery pack is required. Hence, proper maintenance of the battery pack is of paramount importance. The maintenance of the battery pack mainly includes thermal management which further includes an operating temperature as well as a surrounding temperature of the battery. At too low temperatures, the electrochemical reactions within the cells become sluggish resulting in high internal resistance and poor performance of the battery. Similarly at too high temperatures, the electrochemical reaction becomes rigorous leading to uncontrolled disintegration of the cells causing eventual loss in function of the battery pack and may cause a thermal runaway problem which is a major concern.
Thermal runaway means that an excessive heat gets accumulated in the battery and heat cannot be dissipated and as a result, the overall temperature of the battery gets increased. In such situations, there is a risk of battery fire or explosion if the temperature of the battery pack rises above a predetermined operating temperature. In addition, the operating temperature of the battery pack has a huge impact on the longevity of the battery. Hence, for optimal performance of the battery, it is essential to maintain the battery pack's operating temperature.
Cooling the battery pack becomes increasingly challenging with the increase in size of the battery pack. There have been several attempts made in reducing the operating temperature of the battery packs which involves placing a di-electric expandable material between the cells and the surrounding walls that transfers the internal heat to the battery case through conduction mechanism.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is another objective of the current invention to provide air guiding channels for enabling efficient cooling of a battery pack of a vehicle.
It is yet another objective of the current invention to enable cooling of the battery pack through the atmospheric air.
It is yet another objective of the current invention to uniformly distribute the air over the battery pack of the vehicle to cool the battery pack uniformly.
It is yet another objective of the current invention to generate uniform pressure distribution to prevent drag force on the vehicle.
It is yet another objective of the current invention to facilitate maximum cooling to the battery pack through the atmospheric air.
It is yet another objective of the current invention to maintain an appealing aesthetic look of the vehicle while providing cut-outs on the cover assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to provide a system for cooling a battery pack of a vehicle, specifically, a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle. The battery cooling mechanisms generally uses a conduction mechanism where a di-electric expandable material is used between the cells and the surrounding walls of the battery that basically transfers an internal heat to a battery case. The attempts have been made to cool the battery through moving air. But, somehow, this results in a drop in air pressure which builds up a drag force on the vehicle. The present invention mainly tries to dissipate the heat from a battery case to a surrounding or to atmosphere. Hence, the present invention majorly focuses on cooling the battery pack evenly or uniformly by providing uniform airflow over the battery pack and by preventing generation of drag force on the vehicle.
The system for cooling the battery pack of the straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle comprising of a main frame, a cradle frame, a battery assembly disposed in a space formed between the main frame and the cradle frame, wherein the battery assembly is comprised of a battery case, wherein the battery case further comprises of a series of parallel fins on a top side of the battery case, at least one battery module configured with a plurality of chemical cells mounted in a predefined manner and a battery management system (BMS), wherein the at least one battery module and the BMS are configured to be enclosed in a space formed in the battery case and a cover assembly comprising of a front tank cover, the front tank cover is configured with one or more front air guiding channels to cool the BMS, a controller and the battery, a front grill, wherein the front grill comprising of a left-side cover to cover at least a portion of the battery assembly in a vehicle left side view, the left-side cover is configured with one or more left air guiding channels and/or one or more middle air guiding channels to cool the battery from the left side, a bottom cover to cover at least a portion of the battery assembly in a vehicle bottom view, the bottom cover is configured with a bottom air guiding channels to cool the battery from the bottom side, a right-side cover to cover at least a portion of the battery assembly in a vehicle right side view, the right side cover is configured with one or more right air guiding channels and/or one or more middle air guiding channels to cool the battery from the right side, wherein said air guiding channels are configured to be predefined cut-out portions that directs an incoming air to pass on the BMS, the controller, the battery and the battery fins in order to cool the battery and the air is further guided towards the rear of the vehicle.
As per the first embodiment of the present invention, the battery assembly is detachably attached to the main frame and the cradle frame through at least one mechanical fastening member.
As per the second embodiment of the present invention, the left side cover, the bottom cover and the right side cover of the front grill are configured with a predefined curve and mounted to the main frame and the cradle frame.
As per the third embodiment of the present invention, the air guiding channels having cut-out portions are configured to be of any predefined shape.
As per the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the cut-out portions are designed in a manner to facilitate maximum cooling to the battery assembly.
As per the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the front tank cover and the front grill are configured to be single integral part.
As per the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the air guiding channels or the cut-out portions are configured to function as louver.
As per the seventh embodiment of the present invention, one or more louvers are designed to be different from each other in shape wherein the number of louvers in each of the front tank cover, the left-side cover, the bottom cover and the right-side cover are configured to be variable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures in which:
FIG.1 is a front grill of a cover assembly of a system for cooling a battery pack of a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle.
FIG. 2 is a front tank cover of a cover assembly of a system for cooling a battery pack of a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle.
FIG. 3 is a cover assembly of a system for cooling a battery pack of a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle.
FIG. 4 is a battery assembly of a system for cooling a battery pack of a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle.
FIG. 5 is of a system for cooling a battery pack of a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle showing a cover assembly and a battery assembly.
Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe them. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as would normally occur to those skilled in the art are to be construed as being within the scope of the present invention.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.
The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices, sub-systems, elements, structures, components, members, additional devices, additional sub-systems, additional elements, additional structures or additional components. Appearances of the phrase "in an embodiment", "in another embodiment" and similar language throughout this specification may, but not necessarily do, all refer to the same embodiment.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying figures.
As per the present invention, a system for cooling a battery pack of a vehicle, specifically, a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle is disclosed. The present invention is focused on cooling the battery pack of the vehicle naturally without any complex battery cooling mechanism wherein the atmospheric air is used to cool the battery pack of the vehicle. As per the main embodiment of the present invention, at least some portion of the battery pack is surrounded by a cover, or a cover assembly wherein said cover is configured with engineered cut-outs to uniformly distribute the atmospheric air over the battery case having number of parallel fins. It is to be understood that the cooling of battery pack means the cooling of whole battery assembly including a BMS, a controller and the battery pack.
Referring to figure 1, a front grill (100) of the system for cooling the battery pack (500) of the vehicle is illustrated, in accordance with the present invention. The front grill (100) is divided into three parts namely a left side cover (102), a right side cover (104) and a bottom cover (106) for better interpretation. As seen from figure 1, the left side cover (102), a right side cover (104) and the bottom cover (106) are divided with a reference axis X-X and Y-Y. The left side of the axis Y-Y is the left side cover (102), the right side of the axis Y-Y is the right side cover (104) and the bottom cover (106) is located below the reference axis X-X. The front grill (100) is mounted on a front side of the vehicle such that the front grill (100) at least partially covers the battery pack (400). The front grill (100) is configured with a predefined curvature, shape and size in a way that the battery pack (400) is hidden behind the front grill (100), after assembly. However, the person skilled in the art may use any curvature, shape and size of the front grill (100) based on the demand or the shape and size of the battery pack (400). The front grill (100) mainly comprises of a plurality of air guiding channels that are cut-out portions on said front grill (100). These cut-out portions are the critical part to design as it involves all the engineering knowledge including aerodynamics, fluid dynamics, design engineering etc. Moreover, the left side cover (102) comprises of one or more left air guiding channels (108) and one or more middle air guiding channels (114) to cool the battery pack (400) from the left side. The left side cover (102) at least covers a portion of the battery assembly (400) when the vehicle is viewed from the left side. Furthermore, the right side cover (104) comprises of one or more right air guiding channels (110) and one or more middle air guiding channels (114) to cool the battery from the right side. The right side cover (104) at least covers the portion of the battery assembly (400) when the vehicle is viewed from the right side. Moreover, the bottom cover (106) comprises of one or more bottom air guiding channels (112) to cool the battery from the bottom side. The bottom cover (106) at least covers a portion of the battery assembly (400) as seen from the figures. The aforementioned air guiding channels (108, 112, 110, 114) are configured to be predefined cut-out portions that harnesses the atmospheric air and further guided to pass on the BMS (406), the controller, the battery pack (400) through the battery fins in order to cool the battery pack (400), and the air is further guided to exit towards a rear of the vehicle. Further, the front grill (100) comprises a plurality of clamps for fastening of the front grill.
Referring to figure 2, a front tank cover (200) of the system for cooling the battery pack (500) of the vehicle is illustrated, in accordance with the present invention. The front tank cover (200) is designed in a way to at least cover a portion of a tank of the vehicle. The front tank cover (200) mainly comprises of one or more front air guiding (202) channels to cool the BMS (406), the controller and the battery pack (400). The front tank cover (200) further comprises of a left front tank cover (204) and a right front tank cover (206). However, the front tank cover (200) is manufactured as a single integral part. The front tank cover (200) is designed with a curvature and shape such that it partially covers the tank of the vehicle and partially covers the battery pack (400) of the vehicle. Further, the front tank cover (200) is attached to the front grill (100) during assembly. The front tank cover (200) has a plurality of clamps (116) for attachment to the front grill (100) and other parts of the vehicle.
Referring to figure 3, a cover assembly (300) of the system for cooling the battery pack (500) of the vehicle is illustrated, in accordance with the present invention. The front grill (100) and the front tank cover (200) are removably attached for making the cover assembly (300). The cover assembly (300) is configured to cover the battery pack (400), the controller and the BMS (406) of the vehicle, from the front and top side of the vehicle. Also, the cover assembly (300) gives an appealing aesthetic look to the vehicle which makes the vehicle look like premium range.
Referring to figure 4, the battery assembly (400) of the vehicle is illustrated, in accordance with the present invention. The battery assembly (400) comprises a battery module, a battery case (402) and a battery management system (BMS) (406). The battery module is configured with a plurality of chemical cells mounted in a predefined manner wherein the battery pack (400) of the present invention comprises of one or more battery modules for the battery pack (400). The battery pack (400) of the present invention is a compact battery structure providing maximum driving range to a user. Further, the battery case (402) comprises of a plurality of parallel fins (404) which further guide the air from the air guiding channels (202, 108, 110, 114, 112) over the battery case (402), facilitating maximum cooling of the battery assembly (400).
Referring to figure 5, the system for cooling the battery pack (500) of the straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle showing the cover assembly (300) and the battery assembly (400) of the vehicle is illustrated, in accordance with the present invention. The system (500) as seen comprises of the front grill assembly (100), the front tank cover (200) wherein said front grill assembly (100) and the front tank cover (200) are removably fastened to each other. The front grill assembly (100) and the front tank cover (200) are together known as the cover assembly (300) which partially covers the battery assembly (400) from the front and top side of the battery assembly (400). The cover assembly (300) comprises of a plurality of air guiding channels (202, 108, 110, 114, 112) as explained in above-mentioned paragraphs wherein the air guiding channels (202, 108, 110, 114, 112) are the cut-out portions located at designed locations in order to cool the battery assembly (400).
During charging and discharging of the battery or during vehicle running condition, heat is generated inside the battery wherein the heat is conducted through the various parts of the battery including the battery module and the battery case (402). The temperature of the battery keeps on rising with the use and above certain temperature when the excessive heat is accumulated inside the battery, there is a chance of thermal runaway of the battery. Hence, it is must to dissipate the generated heat of the battery and maintain the temperature of the battery within specified limits. In the present embodiment, the battery assembly (400) comprises the plurality of parallel fins (404) over the front and top side of the battery pack (400) and the above-mentioned cut-out portions are located covering the parallel fins (404). When outside atmospheric air enters the cut-out portions or the air guiding channels (202, 108, 110, 114, 112), it guides the air to flow over the battery case (402) through the provided parallel fins (404). The provision of parallel fins (404) allows the air guiding channels (202, 108, 110, 114, 112) to distribute the air uniformly over the battery assembly (400). Further, the outside air, which is cool, absorbs heat of the battery pack (400) while flowing through the parallel fins (404) and the temperature of the battery gradually reduces, hence, cooling the battery. Basically, a heat exchange phenomenon takes place between the outside air and the battery case (402). The heat from the battery case (402) is discharged and carried away as hot air to the atmosphere, towards the rear side of the vehicle. As described, the uniform distribution of the air over the battery assembly (400) constitutes uniform pressure across the battery assembly (400) thereby preventing generation of drag force across the battery assembly (400).
While specific language has been used to describe the invention, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

FURTHER ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
The system as disclosed in the present invention is able to maximize cooling of a battery assembly of a vehicle as discussed in earlier paragraphs, by enabling efficient cooling technique to cool a battery pack. For achieving said cooling, a plurality of cut-out portions or a plurality of air guiding channels are provided in the present invention wherein the air guiding channels are provided in the form of cut-out portions on a cover assembly of the vehicle. The present invention provides a cost-effective solution to cool the battery pack of the vehicle as it uses only the atmospheric air for said cooling. To maximize the cooling efficiently, the atmospheric air is uniformly distributed over the battery pack of the vehicle which prevents building of drag force on the vehicle. The aforesaid cut-out portions are engineered in a way to maintain an appealing aesthetic look of the vehicle by facilitating maximum cooling of the battery assembly.

REFERENCES

Sr. No. Part Name Reference Number
1 system for cooling a battery pack 500
2 battery assembly 400
3 battery case 402
4 parallel fins of battery case 404
5 battery management system 406
6 cover assembly 300
7 front tank cover 200
8 front air guiding channels 202
9 left front tank cover 204
10 right front tank cover 206
11 clamps of front tank cover 208
12 front grill 100
13 left-side cover 102
14 left air guiding channels 108
15 bottom cover 106
16 bottom air guiding channels 112
17 right-side cover 104
18 right air guiding channels 110
19 middle air guiding channels 114
20 clamps of front tank cover 116
, Claims:We Claim:
1. A system for cooling a battery pack (500) of a straddle-ride type battery-powered vehicle comprising of:
- a main frame,
- a cradle frame,
- a battery assembly (400) disposed in a space formed between the main frame and the cradle frame, wherein the battery assembly (400) is comprised of:
• a battery case (402), wherein the battery case (402) further comprises of a series of parallel fins (404) on a top side of the battery case (402),
• at least one battery module configured with a plurality of chemical cells mounted in a predefined manner; and
• a battery management system (BMS) (406),
wherein the at least one battery module and the BMS (406) are configured to be enclosed in a space formed in the battery case (402).
- a cover assembly (300) comprising of:
• a front tank cover (200), the front tank cover (200) is configured with one or more front air guiding channels (202) to cool the BMS (406), a controller and the battery;
• a front grill (100), wherein the front grill (100) comprising of:
o a left-side cover (102) to cover at least a portion of the battery assembly (400) in a vehicle left side view, the left-side cover (102) is configured with one or more left air guiding channels (108) and/or one or more middle air guiding channels (114) to cool the battery from the left side;
o a bottom cover (106) to cover at least a portion of the battery assembly (400) in a vehicle bottom view, the bottom cover (106) is configured with a bottom air guiding channels (112) to cool the battery from the bottom side;
o a right-side cover (104) to cover at least a portion of the battery assembly (400) in a vehicle right side view, the right side cover (104) is configured with one or more right air guiding channels (110) and/or one or more middle air guiding channels (114) to cool the battery from the right side;

wherein said air guiding channels (108, 114, 112, 110) are configured to be predefined cut-out portions that directs an incoming air to pass on the BMS (406), the controller, the battery and the battery fins (404) in order to cool the battery and the air is further guided towards the rear of the vehicle.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery assembly (400) is detachably attached to the main frame and the cradle frame through at least one mechanical fastening member.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the left side cover, the bottom cover (106) and the right side cover (104) of the front grill are configured with a predefined curve and mounted to the main frame and the cradle frame.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air guiding channels (202, 108, 112, 110, 114) having cut-out portions are configured to be of any predefined shape.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cut-out portions are designed in a manner to facilitate maximum cooling to the battery assembly (400).

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front tank cover (200) and the front grill (100) are configured to be single integral part.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air guiding channels (202, 108, 112, 110, 114) or the cut-out portions are configured to function as louver.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more louvers are designed to be different from each other in shape.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of louvers in each of the front tank cover (200), the left-side cover (102), the bottom cover (106) and the right-side cover (104) are configured to be variable.

Dated this the 12th day of February 2024