Battery tray assembly and method of manufacturing a battery tray assembly

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a battery tray assembly includes providing a planar blank having four edges and four blank corners. The method also includes cutting a generally square or rectangular recess in each blank corner to define four tabs, each tab being located between two recesses along one of the blank edges. Each recess terminates at a recess corner. The method also includes forming a plurality of notches, each notch extending linearly into the blank at one of the recess corners. The method also includes bending each tab in a first direction along a wall fold line aligned with two of the recess corners to define four walls, wherein the walls each extend perpendicular to the plane of the blank. Four linear gaps are defined between two of the walls, respectively, for receiving welds, and a cavity of the tray assembly is defined between the walls.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This PCT international patent application claims priority and benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 568,806, filed March 22, 2024, entitled “Battery Tray Assembly and Method of Manufacturing Battery Tray Assembly,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to a battery tray assembly for housing and protecting electric vehicle batteries. Background Technology

[0004] This section provides background information in connection with this disclosure, which may not be considered prior art.

[0005] Electric vehicles typically include battery tray assemblies for housing and protecting the batteries. Battery tray assemblies generally have a flat base plate surrounded by upward-convex walls that define a chamber for housing the batteries. Current battery tray assemblies are typically constructed as either deep-drawn one-piece basins or multi-piece basins. Both have certain drawbacks, particularly the relatively complex and expensive assembly processes required. Furthermore, the deep-drawing stamping process used to form deep-drawn basins is limited to using steel blanks, while multi-piece basins are prone to leakage at the joints between components, especially considering the use of numerous joints. Therefore, improvements to battery tray assemblies and their manufacturing methods remain necessary. Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method of manufacturing a battery tray assembly includes: providing a blank extending along a plane of a substrate and having four edges and four blank corners. The method further includes cutting a generally square or rectangular groove in each blank corner to define four protrusions, each protrusion located between two grooves along one of the blank edges. Each groove terminates at a groove corner. The method further includes forming a plurality of notches, each notch extending linearly into the blank at one of the groove corners. The method further includes bending each protrusion along a wall fold line aligned with two groove corners in a first direction to define four sidewalls, each sidewall extending perpendicular to the plane of the blank. Four linear gaps are defined between two walls for receiving weld portions, and wherein a cavity of the tray assembly is defined between the sidewalls.

[0007] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a battery tray assembly includes a substrate. At least one pair of sidewalls extend upward from the substrate and have edges positioned adjacent to each other. At least one linear gap is defined between the edges of the at least one pair of sidewalls and extends along the length of the at least one pair of sidewalls. The substrate defines at least one notch aligned with the at least one linear gap in a corner region between the substrate and the at least one pair of sidewalls for reducing compression between the at least one pair of sidewalls and the substrate when the at least one pair of sidewalls is bent during battery tray assembly assembly.

[0008] This subject matter provides components and methods for the cost-effective design and manufacturing process of battery trays, which are produced from a single piece of material through a series of simple, repeatable, rapid, and controlled process steps. The battery tray can be made from a single blank of various materials such as steel and aluminum and is leak-proof, particularly due to the minimal presence of sealing / welding joints. Notches at the corners of the substrate and sidewalls eliminate compression in the corner areas of the sidewalls during bending, and this, along with the weld gaps at the corners, provides a consistent, leak-proof weld. Attached Figure Description

[0009] These and other advantages of this disclosure will be more readily understood by reading the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 A perspective top view of a battery tray assembly according to one aspect of this disclosure; Figure 2 This is a perspective bottom view of the battery tray assembly; Figure 3 A top view of the blank used to manufacture the battery tray assembly; Figure 3A A side cross-sectional view of corrugations that can be formed in the battery tray assembly blank; Figure 4 This is a top view of the battery tray assembly blank, showing the cutting operation; Figure 5 This is a perspective view of the battery tray assembly blank, showing the flange forming operation; Figure 6 This is a perspective view of the battery tray assembly blank, showing the wall forming operation; Figure 7 A perspective view of the battery tray assembly after flange and wall forming operations; Figure 8 A perspective view of the battery tray assembly positioned in the fixture during the welding operation; Figure 9 This is a perspective top view of the battery tray assembly, showing the gaps and notches at the corner portions before welding. Figure 10A perspective bottom view of the battery tray assembly, showing the gap and notch at the corner portion before welding; and Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a battery tray assembly. Detailed Implementation

[0010] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Generally, embodiments of this subject matter relate to a battery tray assembly 20 and a method of manufacturing the same. However, exemplary embodiments are provided only to make this disclosure thorough and to fully communicate the scope to those skilled in the art. Numerous specific details, such as examples of specific components, apparatus, and methods, are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of this disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments may be implemented in many different forms without the need for the specific details and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. In some exemplary embodiments, known processes, known device structures, and known technologies are not described in detail.

[0011] Referring to the accompanying drawings, where the same numerals denote corresponding parts in several views, embodiments of a tray assembly 20 for housing a battery and a method of manufacturing the tray assembly 20 are shown. According to a preferred embodiment, the tray assembly 20 is used to house and protect batteries in electric vehicles (e.g., automobiles), but can also be used to house batteries in other applications. The tray assembly can be made of various materials, including steel and aluminum.

[0012] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The tray assembly 20 includes a planar substrate 22 having a rectangular or square shape, with a front edge 24, a rear edge 26 opposite to the front edge 24, and a pair of side edges 28 extending between the front and rear edges 24 and 26. The tray assembly 20 may have other shapes without departing from the scope of this disclosure. A front wall 30 extends perpendicularly to the substrate 22 from the front edge 24, a rear wall 32 extends perpendicularly to the substrate 22 from the rear edge 26, and a pair of side walls 34 each extends perpendicularly to the substrate 22 from one of the side edges 28. The side walls 34 each extend between the front wall 30 and the rear wall 32 in a spaced-apart and parallel relationship. The walls 30, 32, and 34 together define a chamber 35 for receiving a battery. A top edge 36 defines the top of the front wall, rear wall, and side walls 30, 32, and 34. A flange 38 extends from the top edge 36 around the front wall, rear wall, and side walls 30, 32, and 34 parallel to the substrate 22. The welded portion 40 is located at the gap 41 at the corner region 44 of the front wall and rear wall 30, 32 and the side wall 34 (shown in the figure). Figure 4 , 7 At points 9 and 30, walls 30, 32, and 34 are sealed together. Figure 9-10As shown, before welding and when positioned in the fixture 61, the gap 41 at the corner region 44 is consistently 1 mm in length along the gap 41 between the substrate 22 and the flange 38. The common flange 38 on all sides of the battery tray assembly 20 serves as the sealing surface of the tray assembly 20 once it is mounted onto a component of the vehicle battery assembly (e.g., the lower sealing plate, lower basin, or lower cover).

[0013] Best of all Figure 9-10 As shown, during assembly, notches 42 are formed at the respective corner regions 44 of walls 30, 32, and 34, below gap 41, and extend linearly into the substrate 22. As will be discussed further below, the notches 42 eliminate compression at the corner regions 44 during the forming / bending of walls 30, 32, and 34, resulting in a consistent, leak-proof weld in the corner regions 44 of the tray assembly 20 to connect walls 30, 32, and 34 to each other. Figure 1 As shown, after welding, the welded portion 40 extends along the full length of the gap 41 and the notch 42 to seal the tray assembly 20. The notch 42 may have various shapes and sizes.

[0014] Figure 11 A flowchart is presented showing a method 100 for manufacturing a battery tray assembly 20 according to this disclosure. This method 100 can be performed using a series of very simple cutting, forming, and welding steps on a continuous stamping line. More specifically, as Figure 3 As shown, the method initially includes 102: providing a rectangular or square blank 46 having four blank edges 48 and four blank corners 50. (As...) Figure 3A As shown, a certain degree of stretching can be introduced into the blank 46 by forming corrugations in the blank 46, which increase the overall size of the blank 46 when flattened during assembly.

[0015] like Figure 4 As shown, the method further includes 104: cutting generally square or rectangular grooves 52 in each corner 50 of the blank 46 to define four protrusions 54, each protrusion located between two grooves 52 along one of the edges 48 of the blank 46. Each protrusion 54 has a pair of triangular flaps 56, each flap extending along one of the edges 48 of the blank into one of the blank grooves 52. According to a preferred embodiment, the cutting is performed using a laser trimming device, but other cutting methods may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The method may also include 106: punching any necessary holes or additional forming features in the blank 46. The method may include linearly defining a notch 42 into the substrate 22 at each corner 44. Each notch 42 extends at an angle such that it faces another notch located at a diagonally opposite groove 52.

[0016] The winglet fold line 58 is defined along each protrusion 54 between the bottoms of each winglet 56 of the protrusion 54. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the method continues 108: each protrusion 54 is bent along the wing fold line 58 in a first direction to form a flange 38 at the edge of each protrusion 54. At this point, each flange 38 extends approximately perpendicular to the plane of the blank 46. Once installed on a vehicle, the flange 38 serves as a sealing surface for the pallet assembly 20 during use. This bending movement can be performed via the forming assembly 59 (e.g., Figure 6 (Illustrative illustration). The forming assembly 59 may have various retaining members, such as clamps, grippers, and forming members, such as hydraulic actuators and associated clamping members, to provide the desired bending / bending. The forming assembly 59 may be part of a blanking die and / or a laser cutting unit.

[0017] like Figure 5-6 As further shown, each protrusion 54 also defines a wall fold 60 that spans between the corner regions 44 of the two recesses 52 of the protrusion 54. Figure 6-7 As shown, the method continues 110: each protrusion is bent along the wall fold line 60 in a second direction opposite to the first direction to define four walls 30, 32, 34 and chamber 35. Figure 7 As shown, at this time, walls 30, 32, and 34 extend approximately perpendicular to the plane of substrate 22, and flange 38 extends parallel to substrate 22. This bending motion can be performed using forming assembly 59 to form front / rear walls 30, 32 and side walls 34, respectively. Figure 7 This shows the degree of initial springback that may exist in the walls 30, 32, and 34 after bending.

[0018] like Figure 8As shown, the method also includes a clamp 61 that engages the tray assembly 20 to the molding assembly 59 to close and maintain a consistent gap 41 at the corner region 44 of the walls 30, 32, 34 during welding. The clamp 61 includes a planar plate 62 on which the substrate 22 of the battery tray assembly 20 is situated. Furthermore, a series of panels 64, 66 extend upward from the plate 62. The panels include a front panel 64 and a rear panel (not shown) arranged parallel to each other, and a pair of side panels 68 extending perpendicularly to the front and rear panels 64 between them to define a clamp cavity 70 between the front, rear, and side panels 64, 68. A clamp gap 72 is located between each of the panels 64, 68, such that the corner region 44 and the gap 41 of the tray assembly 20 are accessible for welding. As shown, the panels 64, 68 of the clamp 61 hold the walls 30, 32, 34 of the tray assembly 20 in an upright arrangement, at least substantially perpendicular to the substrate 22, without springback. This maintains a constant gap 41 at the corner region 44 during welding. The method continues 114: walls 30, 32, and 34 are welded at the gap 41 and the notch 42 to connect the walls 30, 32, and 34 to each other. According to a preferred embodiment, a TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding method is used, but other welding methods, particularly seam welding methods, can be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, MIG (metal inert gas) welding, MAG (metal active gas) welding, laser hybrid welding, and combinations thereof, with or without filler metal, can be used.

[0019] As previously described, notch 42 eliminates compression at corner region 44, providing a consistent, leak-proof weld at the corner of tray assembly 20 by reducing gap 41 in the weld area to, for example, 1.0 mm, having a consistent width over gap 41, and ensuring that walls 30, 32, and 34 do not overlap. Weld portion 40 may extend along the length of walls 30, 32, and 34 at corner 44 and wrap around substrate 22. Furthermore, corner treatment may be applied prior to welding to help close gap 41 by the desired amount, thereby providing a thermomechanical bonding method. For example, a roll forming process may be used to close gap 41.

[0020] The flange 38 of the finished tray assembly 20 can be engaged with the lower sealing plate, lower basin, or lower cover plate or other components of the battery assembly to form a leak-proof assembly. For example, sealants, adhesives, thermal bonding methods, or mechanical fasteners can be used to provide this sealed connection. Furthermore, the flange 38 can be flattened, for example, via a machining process to further contribute to providing a good seal.

[0021] This subject matter provides a cost-effective design and manufacturing process for producing a battery tray assembly 20, which is made from a single piece of material through a series of simple, easily repeatable, rapidly executed, and controlled process steps. Due to the simple assembly method, the battery tray assembly 20 can be made from a single blank 22 of various materials, such as steel and aluminum. This is advantageous compared to previous one-piece battery tray assemblies 20 limited to steel. Furthermore, the battery tray assembly 20 is less prone to leakage, particularly due to the presence of few sealing / welding joints. Additionally, the notch 42 eliminates compression at the corner regions 44 of the walls 30, 32, 34 during bending, providing a consistent, leak-proof weld at the weld gap 41 at the corner regions 44.

[0022] Obviously, in view of the foregoing teachings, many modifications and variations of the invention are possible and can be practiced in ways different from those specifically described within the scope of the appended claims. These foregoing statements should be construed as covering any combination in which the novelty of the invention brings about its utility.

[0023] Obviously, changes can be made to the content described and shown herein without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. The description of the foregoing embodiments is provided for illustrative and descriptive purposes. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of this disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but are interchangeable and can be used in any embodiment where applicable, even if not specifically shown or described. Variations are also possible in many ways. Such variations should not be considered as departing from this disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0024] The terminology used herein is for describing specific exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may also be intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” and “having” are open-ended and thus specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein should not be construed as necessarily requiring performance in the specific order discussed or shown, unless specifically identified as such. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

[0025] When an element or layer is referred to as being "on," "attached to," "connected to," or "linked to" another element or layer, it may be directly on, attached to, connected to, or linked to the other element or layer, or there may be intermediate elements or layers present. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly attached to," "directly connected to," or "directly linked to" another element or layer, there may be no intermediate elements or layers present. Other terms used to describe relationships between elements should be interpreted in a similar manner (e.g., "between" vs. "directly between," "adjacent" vs. "directly adjacent," etc.). As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0026] Although terms such as first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and / or portions, these elements, components, regions, layers, and / or portions should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used only to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or portion from another region, layer, or portion. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms used herein do not imply order or sequence unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Therefore, a first element, component, region, layer, or portion discussed below may be referred to as a second element, component, region, layer, or portion without departing from the teachings of the exemplary embodiments.

[0027] Spatial relative terms, such as “inside,” “outside,” “below,” “under,” “lower,” “above,” “above,” etc., may be used herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of one element or feature to another element or feature as shown in the figures. Spatial relative terms may be intended to cover different orientations of the device in use or operation other than those shown in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is flipped, an element described as “below” or “under” other elements or features will be oriented “above” other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can cover both above and below orientations. The device may be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or other orientations), and the spatial relative descriptive terms used herein should be interpreted accordingly.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a battery tray assembly, comprising: A blank is provided, which extends along the plane of the substrate and has four edges and four blank corners; A roughly square or rectangular groove is cut out at each corner of the blank to define four protrusions, each protrusion being located between two grooves along one of the edges of the blank, wherein each groove terminates at a corner of the groove. Multiple notches are formed, each notch extending linearly into the blank at one of the corners of the groove; as well as Each protrusion is bent along a first direction along a wall fold line aligned with two of the recessed corners to define four walls, each extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the blank, wherein four linear gaps are defined between two of the walls, and wherein the chamber of the tray assembly is defined between the walls for accommodating the battery.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The wall is welded along each linear gap and notch to seal the wall and the substrate to each other.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: A clamp is provided, the clamp comprising a planar plate and a plurality of panels extending upward from the plate, the panels including a front panel and a rear panel parallel to each other and a pair of side panels extending perpendicular to and parallel to each other to define a clamp cavity between the front panel, the rear panel and the side panels. as well as Before welding the wall at each linear gap, the blank is positioned in the fixture cavity, with the front wall positioned against the front panel, the rear wall against the rear panel, and each side wall against one of the side walls, so as to keep the front wall, rear wall, and side wall in an upright position during welding at the linear gap.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the clamping gap is defined between each of the front and rear panels and the side panels to provide space for welding the corner areas.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein welding the wall along each linear gap comprises welding along the total length of each linear gap.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each linear gap has a substantially continuous width along its length before welding the wall along each linear gap.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each protrusion has a pair of flaps having a triangular shape before bending each protrusion along the first direction, each flap extending along each edge into one of the grooves, and wherein the method further comprises: Along a line extending between the bottoms of each blade, each protrusion is bent in a second direction opposite to the first direction to define a flange at the edge of each wall, wherein each flange extends perpendicular to the plane of the blank.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the blank has a square or rectangular shape.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein cutting the blank includes laser cutting the blank.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the welding comprises seam welding.

11. A battery tray assembly, comprising: substrate; At least one pair of walls, which extend upward from the substrate and have edges positioned adjacent to each other; At least one linear gap is defined between the edges of the at least one pair of sidewalls and extends along the length of the at least one pair of sidewalls; as well as The substrate defines at least one notch aligned with the at least one linear gap at a corner region between the substrate and the at least one pair of sidewalls, for reducing compression between the at least one pair of sidewalls and the substrate when the at least one pair of sidewalls are bent during assembly of the battery tray assembly.

12. The battery tray assembly of claim 11, wherein the weld is positioned along the notch and linear gap to seal the substrate and the at least one pair of sidewalls to each other.

13. The battery tray assembly of claim 11, wherein the linear gap has a constant width along the length of the at least one pair of sidewalls prior to welding.

14. The battery tray assembly of claim 11, wherein the at least one pair of sidewalls has a top edge opposite to the substrate, and wherein a flange extends outward from the top edge and substantially parallel to the substrate.

15. The battery tray assembly of claim 11, wherein the substrate has one of a rectangular or square shape, wherein the at least one pair of sidewalls includes a front wall, a rear wall opposite to the front wall, and a pair of sidewalls extending between the front and rear walls and defining a cavity therebetween, wherein the at least one linear gap includes four linear gaps, each linear gap being located between the edges of the front wall, the rear wall, and the sidewalls, and wherein the at least one notch includes four notches, each notch being located on the substrate and aligned with one of the linear gaps.

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