Patent ID: 9722286
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: H01M,Y02E

Claim:
1. A battery pack, comprising: a battery pack housing having a bottom wall, first, second, third, and forth side walls, and an upper cover defining and interior region; the first, second, third, and fourth side walls being coupled to the bottom wall and extending upwardly from the bottom wall; the interior region having a first interior space and a second interior space, the first side wall having an inlet aperture extending therethrough that communicates with the first interior space, and the second side wall having an outlet aperture extending therethrough that communicates with the second interior space, the upper cover being coupled to the fist, second, third, and forth side walls; a battery module being disposed in the first interior space of the battery pack housing and proximate to the inlet aperture, the battery module further having a longitudinal axis extending from the inlet aperture and through the battery module toward a DC-DC voltage converter, the battery module having first and second end plates, a first battery cell, and a first heat exchanger; the first battery cell being disposed against and directly contacting a top side of the first end plate and further directly contacting a bottom side of the fist heat exchanger; the fist battery cell and the fist heat exchanger being disposed between the first and the second end plates; the first end plate having a first end portion that extends longitudinally past a first end of the fist battery cell and directly contacts the fist side wall of the battery pack housing below the inlet aperture; the fist end plate extending from the fist side wall toward the DC-DC voltage converter; the second end plate having a fist end portion that extends longitudinally past the fist end of the first battery cell and directly contacts the fist side wall of the battery pack housing above the inlet aperture; the second end plate extending from the fist side wall toward the DC-DC voltage converter; the first end portion of the fist end plate and the first end portion of the second end plate directing air from the inlet aperture to the fist heat exchanger, the first heat exchanger configured to receive the air through an internal region of the fist heat exchanger to cool the fist battery cell; the DC-DC voltage converter being disposed in the second interior space and between the first and second side walls such that the air flowing from the first heat exchanger further cools the DC-DC voltage converter; an electric fan adapted to urge the air to flow from the inlet aperture through the first and second interior spaces to the outlet aperture of the battery pack housing; a first temperature sensor being disposed in the first interior space, the first temperature sensor adapted to generate a first signal indicative of a first temperature level of the first battery cell; a second temperature sensor being disposed in the second interior space, the second temperature sensor adapted to generate a second signal indicative of a second temperature level of the DC-DC voltage converter; a microprocessor operably coupled to the first and second temperature sensors such that the microprocessor receives the first and second signals, respectively, the microprocessor further operably coupled to the electric fan; the microprocessor being programmed to determine a first fan speed percentage value of the electric fan based on the first temperature level, the first fan speed percentage value corresponding to a first percentage of a threshold operational speed value associated with the electric fan; the microprocessor being further programmed to determine a second fan speed percentage value of the electric fan based on the second temperature level, the second fan speed percentage value corresponding to a second percentage of the threshold operational speed value associated with the electric fan; and the microprocessor being further programmed to select the first fan speed percentage value if the first fan speed percentage value is greater than the second fan speed percentage value; and the microprocessor being further programmed to generate a first control signal that induces the electric fan to operate at an operational speed corresponding to the first fan speed percentage value if the first fan speed percentage value is selected.