Battery cell terminal alignment fixture

Abstract

A battery cell terminal alignment fixture 10 for aligning protruding terminals of a plurality of battery cells 16 comprises a first alignment component 18a, having a plurality of first terminal apertu

Claims

1. A battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) for aligning protruding terminals (12) of a plurality of battery cells (14), the fixture comprising:a first alignment component (18a) comprising a plurality of first terminal apertures (20a) and a respective plurality of associated first engagement surfaces (22a); anda second alignment component (18b) comprising a plurality of second terminal apertures (20b) and a respective plurality of associated second engagement surfaces (22b);wherein each first engagement surface is defined by a respective protrusion (24) that extends into the corresponding second terminal aperture of the second alignment component;wherein corresponding first and second terminal apertures (20a, 20b) are configured to together receive a respective battery cell terminal (12); andwherein the first and second alignment components (18a, 18b) are connected together in sliding relation such that sliding one of the first or second alignment components relative to the other alignment component brings corresponding first and second engagement surfaces (22a, 22b) closer together to thereby clamp a respective battery cell terminal (12) therebetween.

2. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of Claim 1, further comprising a plurality of interconnecting bars (30) mounted in the second alignment component (18b), wherein each second engagement surface (22b) is at least partially defined by a respective interconnecting bar.

3. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of Claim 1, wherein each first engagement surface (22a) comprises an access opening (28) which facilitates access to a side of the respective battery cell terminal (12) engaged by the first engagement surface, in use.

4. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of Claim 1 or Claim 3, wherein each first engagement surface (22a) is defined by a plurality of spaced-apart protrusions (24).

5. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of any preceding claim, wherein the first alignment component (18a) defines a row of first terminal apertures (20a) and a row of respective associated first engagement surfaces (22a), and wherein the second alignmentcomponent (18b) defines a row of second terminal apertures (20b) and a row of respective associated second engagement surfaces (22b).

6. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of Claim 5, wherein the first alignment component (18a) defines a plurality of rows of first terminal apertures (20a) and a plurality of rows of respective associated first engagement surfaces (22a), and wherein the second alignment component (18b) defines a plurality of rows of second terminal apertures (20b) and a plurality of rows of respective associated second engagement surfaces (22b).

7. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of any preceding claim, wherein eachpair of corresponding first and second engagement surfaces (22a, 22b) are parallel to one another.

8. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of any preceding claim, wherein the first and second alignment components (18a, 18b) are connected together and restrained relative to one another such that the sliding relation is limited to substantially linear sliding along a sliding axis S.

9. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of Claim 8, wherein the first and second engagement surfaces (22a, 22b) are substantially perpendicular to the sliding axis S.

10. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of any preceding claim, wherein the first and second alignment components (18a, 18b) are formed of an electrically insulating material.

11. The battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of any preceding claim, further comprising fixing means arranged to fix the first and second alignment components (18a, 18b) in position relative to one another.

12. A battery (16) comprising a plurality of battery cells (14) and the battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of any preceding claim, each battery cell comprising at least one battery cell terminal (12), and a terminal of each cell being arranged in a first terminal aperture (20a), in a corresponding second terminal aperture (20b), and between a first engagement surface (22a) and a corresponding second engagement surface (22b).

13. The battery (16) of Claim 12, wherein the battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) comprises a plurality of interconnecting bars (30) mounted in the second alignment component (18b), wherein each second engagement surface (22b) is at least partially defined by a respective interconnecting bar, and wherein each cell terminal (12) arranged in a respective second terminal aperture (20b) is electrically connected to the interconnecting bar defining the associated second engagement surface.

14. The battery (16) of Claim 13, wherein each battery cell (14) comprises a positive battery cell terminal (12a) and a negative battery cell terminal (12b), and wherein the positive and negative battery cell terminals both protrude from the same side of the respective battery cell.

15. The battery (16) of Claim 13, wherein each battery cell (14) comprises a positive battery cell terminal (12a) and a negative battery cell terminal (12b), and wherein the positive and negative battery cell terminals each protrude from different sides of the respective battery cell.

16. The battery (16) of Claim 14 or 15, wherein each interconnecting bar electrically connects a positive battery cell terminal (12a) of a battery cell (14) to a negative battery cell terminal (12b) of a different battery cell.

17. The battery (16) of Claim 14 or 15, wherein each interconnecting bar (30) electrically connects a positive battery cell terminal (12a) of a battery cell (14) to a positive battery cell terminal (12a) of a different battery cell, or wherein each interconnecting bar electrically connects a negative battery cell terminal (12b) of a battery cell to a negative battery cell terminal (12b) of a different battery cell.

18. The battery (16) of any of Claims 13 to 17, wherein each interconnecting bar (30) comprises a connection pin (38), and wherein the battery further comprises a battery management control board electrically connected to each interconnecting bar via the respective connection pin.

19. The battery (16) of any of Claims 12 to 18, wherein each battery cell terminal (12) arranged in a first and second terminal aperture (20a, 20b) of the battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) is individually arranged in its own first terminal aperture and corresponding second terminal aperture.

20. The battery (16) of any of Claims 12 to 19, further comprising a cell housing (32) defining a plurality of cell compartments (34), wherein each battery cell (14) is arranged in a cell compartment such that the cells are held in position relative to one another.

21. The battery (16) of Claim 20, wherein the battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) is attached to the cell housing (32).

22. The battery (16) of Claim 21, wherein at least one of the first alignment component (18a) or the second alignment component (18b) is slidable relative to the cell housing (32).

23. The battery (16) of Claim 22, wherein both the first alignment component (18a) and the second alignment component (18b) are slidable relative to the cell housing (32).

24. An electric water heating system comprising the battery cell terminal alignment fixture (10) of any of claims 1 to 11.

25. An electric water heating system comprising the battery (16) of any of Claims 12 to 23.

26. The electric water heating system of Claim 25, further comprising an electrical heating device for heating water, wherein the battery (16) is electrically coupled to the electrical heating device for powering the electrical heating device.

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