Patent ID: 7152417

Claim:
A battery cooling apparatus for cooling a battery mounted on an automotive vehicle, comprising: blowing means having an internal air blowing mode for sucking air from an inside of a compartment of the vehicle and blowing the air from the inside of the compartment to said battery, and an external air blowing mode for sucking air from an outside of the compartment and blowing the air from the outside of the compartment to said battery; cooling means for cooling the air blown to said battery only in said internal air blowing mode; and mode setting means for selecting one of: an external air cooling mode for cooling said battery with the air from the outside of the compartment; an internal air cooling mode for cooling said battery with the air from the inside of the compartment; and a refrigerator cooling mode for cooling said battery with the air from the inside of the compartment cooled by said cooling means; wherein said cooling means use refrigerant for an air conditioner for the compartment; said mode setting means comprise an internal/external air switching unit controlled by an electronic control device; and said electronic control device selects the refrigerator cooling mode in case where a battery temperature Tb fails to drop to a predetermined temperature, in the internal air cooling mode, and forcibly operates a compressor of the air conditioner.