An object of this invention is a thermally stabilized module comprising electric cells to be used in stationary and mobile electric devices, especially in cars comprising an electric or hybrid driving unit.

Modules of electric cells used in electric cars are assembled from individual cells connected into modules. In order to achieve the desired voltage, amperage or electrical capacity values, individual cells are electrically connected in series, in parallel or in a mixed way, and then modules are made up of them in such a way as to occupy as little space as possible. In an electrically driven vehicle space designed for battery modules should be minimal in order to have maximum usable space in a passenger cabin as well as in a boot. During charging, as well as during discharging, modules of electric cells emit a lot of heat, which is connected with the necessity of regulation of battery modules temperature. Cells in modules have to be arranged close to one another because of the minimum-space criterion, and suitable heat flow channels should be foreseen between particular cells in order to fulfil the temperature control criterion, which makes the overall dimensions of a battery module greater, and hence these two criteria are realized in the state of the art by mutually contradictory solutions.

From patent specification US6705418 a battery module is known comprising individual electric cells creating a space structure having a shape resembling a honeycomb structure. This module is cooled by fluid flowing through a shaped pipe located among particular cells situated around it and connected to an outer heat exchanger.

From patent application WO2007/068223A1 "Battery holder" a method for producing modules comprising accumulator batteries is known, said modules reminding the honeycomb structure. This known solution relates to a honeycomb-like container being used when manufacturing modules comprising accumulators made of round cells to be used especially in hybrid and electric vehicles. That container is built from longitudinal semicircular segments which are connected in a module resembling a honeycomb.

These segments have in their middle part channels and elements connecting said channels. A cooling medium passes through these channels in order to cool walls of cells as well as electric cells placed inside. These channels are connected with an outer fluidic heat exchanger.

From American patent specification US4314008 a method for producing modules comprising accumulator batteries is known, according to which a pack of cells is wrapped with a metal tape and then it is placed in a thermal housing. A lateral surface of the pack is in contact with a heat conducting metal plate connected with a heat pump (Peltier cell) carrying out an excess of the heat energy to an external radiator.

From international application PCT/EP2010/056479 a module comprising accumulator batteries is known, the structure of which is similar to that of a honeycomb. Accumulators comprising one or more cells are located in particular hexagonal cells. In this way a strong and solid structure of modules is achieved, and moreover the temperature of all cells is well stabilized. Walls of the hexagonal cells may be intact or channels may be made in them through which a cooling agent, that is water or air, can flow.

It is an object of this invention to create a module of batteries having such a construction which makes it possible to stabilize the temperature of electric cells without simultaneously causing a significant increase of the space designed for battery modules.

Another objective of the invention is to create a housing for packs of electric cells, easy to assemble and providing effective heat transmission.

An additional purpose of the invention is to prepare a fastening construction for a Peltier cell enabling its easy assembly with a housing of packs comprising electric cells.

According to this invention, in a thermally stabilized module comprising electric cells, said cells are placed inside a housing comprising a number of identical chambers forming a honeycomb. This solution is characterized in that a layer of thermally conductive paste is located between electric cells and inner walls of identical cells, said housing being closed underneath by means of a thermally conductive bottom plate.

Advantageously, this thermally conductive bottom plate of the housing is thermally contacted with a cooling module having a built-in Peltier cell transferring thermal energy from or to the pack comprising electric cells.

Advantageous is also a construction wherein identical chambers and the thermally conductive plate are made as a monolith. In another advantageous solution, identical chambers and the thermally conductive plate are connected by a riveting, gluing, soldering or welding process.

It is also advantageous when a layer of thermally conductive paste is located between undersides of identical chambers and the thermally conductive bottom plate.

In an advantageous solution, identical chambers are shaped as elliptical, polygonal or round funnels.

In another advantageous embodiment, a layer of thermally conductive paste is located between outer walls of identical chambers.

In an advantageous embodiment, upper edges of identical chambers are connected by gluing, soldering or welding .

In an advantageous embodiment, upper edges of identical chambers are closed by means of an upper cover.

In an advantageous embodiment, a Peltier cell is thermally contacted with a fluidic heat exchanger.

In an advantageous embodiment, a fluidic heat exchanger has a fluidic cooler as well as a cooling fluid collector having an outlet ferrule and an inlet ferrule.

In an advantageous solution, a Peltier cell together with a fluidic heat exchanger are located in a positioning frame and pressed by means of a fastening plate essentially to the central part of the thermally conductive plate by means of screws.

In another advantageous solution, a thermally conductive bottom plate is thermally contacted with some serially connected cooling modules comprising a Peltier cell. It is advantageous when identical chambers and a thermally conductive bottom plate are made of cooper or aluminium.

Some embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawing in which Fig. 1 shows the side view of a module comprising electric cells, having identical chambers for electric cells in an elliptical cross-section; Fig. 2 shows a module with electric cells in the bottom view; Fig. 3 shows a module with electric cells in the top view; Fig. 4 shows a module with electric cells having identical chambers fastened to a thermally conductive bottom plate by riveting; Fig. 5 shows a module with electric cells having identical chambers glued or soldered to a thermally conductive bottom plate; Fig. 6 shows a module having a partially exposed electric cell in a perspective view; Fig. 7 shows a module comprising cylindrical cells in a perspective view; Fig. 8 shows a module comprising rectangular electric cells in a perspective view; and Fig. 9 shows a thermally conductive bottom plate in which particular parts of a cooling module are shown together with a built-in Peltier cell in a perspective view.

As it is shown in an embodiment in Fig. 1, a module 2 with electric cells according to the invention comprises identical chambers 3 with electric cells 1, said chambers being connected with their bases with a thermally conductive bottom plate 6, whereas two cooling modules with a built-in Peltier cell 8 are located at the opposite side of the bottom plate, said cooling modules being connected by a cooling fluid collector 14, as it is shown in Fig. 2. This cooling fluid collector 14 is connected by an inlet ferrule 16 and an outlet ferrule 15 with an outer fluidal heat exchanger. In Fig. 3 the module comprising thermally stabilized electric cells is shown in which oval electric cells 1 are located inside the housing 2 created from many identical chambers 3 forming a structure resembling a honeycomb .

As it is shown in Fig. 4, inner walls 4 of the chambers are covered with a layer of thermally conductive paste in order to improve heat transfer between a housing of an electric cell and identical chambers 3. In order to provide a thermal contact, bottoms 7 of identical chambers 3 are connected with a bottom plate 6 by riveting. Riveting guarantees the mutual clamp and thanks to that it enables the effective heat transfer between the connected elements. The heat transfer effectiveness between identical chambers 3 and the bottom plate 6 has been further improved by using the thermally conductive paste 5 put before riveting them onto mutually contacting surfaces of the elements.

In another embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 5, the bottoms 7 of identical chambers 3 are connected with the bottom plate 6 by gluing, soldering or welding in order to provide the thermal contact. Soldering or gluing provides also the mutual clamp and in this way provides the effective heat transfer between the connected elements. The effectiveness of the heat transfer between the identical chambers 3 and the bottom plate 6 is further improved by using the thermally conductive paste 5 put onto mutually contacted surfaces of the elements being glued, soldered or welded together before connecting them. Moreover, upper edges 10 of the identical chambers 3 are connected by gluing, soldering or welding.

In another embodiment not shown in the drawing, the identical chambers 3 and the thermally conductive bottom plate 6 are made as a monolith.

In yet another embodiment not shown in the drawing, upper edges 10 of identical chambers 3 are closed with an upper cover.

In Fig. 6 the cut-out in the side wall of the identical chambers 3, as well as a method for connecting electrodes of the electric cells 1 are shown in a perspective view.

The module comprising cylindrical cells according to the invention is shown in a perspective view in Fig. 7. There are shown 53 electric cells 1 placed inside a housing made of many identical chambers 3 forming a honeycomb structure .

A perspective view of the module according to the invention comprising rectangular cells is shown in Fig. 8. In this figure 40 electric cells 1 are shown, located inside a housing made of many identical chambers 3 forming a honeycomb structure.

A cooling module with a built-in Peltier cell 8 is pressed with one of its planar surfaces against the thermally conductive bottom plate 6, and with the other planar surface to the fluidal heat exchanger 12 comprising the fluidic cooler 13 and the collector 14 having an inlet ferrule 15 and an outlet ferrule 15 for a coolant. The fluidic heat exchanger 12 is located in the positioning frame 17 and is tightened across the fastening plate 18 to the Peltier cell 23 by means of the stud-bolts 19 screwed in the thermally conductive bottom plate 6.

In Fig. 9 the liquid heat exchanger 12 is more exactly shown in the exploded perspective view. The stud-bolts 19 are screwed in the thermally conductive bottom plate 6, and the positioning frame 17 is laid on it, having a square opening which positions the Peltier cell 23 contacted with the fluidic cooler 13 connected tightly by the ring gasket 22 with the collector 14. In order to improve heat transfer, a layer of thermally conductive paste is laid onto contact area of the bottom plate 6 and the Peltier cell 23, as well as onto the contact area of the Peltier cell 23 and the fluidic heat exchanger 12.

Depending on whether the module of electric cells 1 requires cooling or heating, the cell control system changes the polarization of the voltage on the Peltier cell 23. In the module comprising electric cells 1 according to the invention, the temperature value of 25 ^° C was set to signal the start of cooling, and 0 ^° C to signal the start of heating.

Depending on a temperature value indicated by temperature sensors 24 placed near the electric cells 1, supply parameters for the Peltier cell 23, that is voltage polarization and current intensity, are dynamically set in the range from -12 V to +12 V in case of the voltage and from - 6 A to + 6 A in case of the current intensity. Therefore, depending on the value of the voltage supplying the Peltier cell 23, in the module according to the invention the bottom plate 6 and the identical chambers 3 connected to it, as well as the electric cells located said chambers, are cooled or heated.

List of reference numerals

1 - electric cell,

2 - module of electric cells,

3 - identical chambers,

4 - inner walls of chambers,

5 - layer of thermally conductive paste,

6 - thermally conductive bottom plate,

7 - bottom sides of identical chambers,

8 - cooling module with a built-in Peltier cell,

9 - outer wall of identical chambers,

10 - upper edge of identical chambers,

11 - upper cover,

12 - fluidic heat exchanger,

13 - fluidic cooler of the heat exchanger,

14 - cooling fluid collector,

15 - outlet ferrule of the cooling fluid collector,

16 - inlet ferrule of the cooling fluid collector,

17 - positioning frame,

18 - fastening plate,

19 - screws,

20 - rivets,

21 - glue, soldering alloy,

22 - ring gasket,

23 - Peltier cell,

24 - temperature sensor.