Battery Bus Bar Switch for Safe Maintenance Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electric vehicles and hybrid cars, the high voltage between battery terminals poses a safety risk during maintenance, increasing the burden on maintenance workers and requiring careful handling to avoid electrical contact.
Innovation Solution
A power source circuit shut off apparatus with bus bars connected to adjacent battery cells, a switch section for electrical disconnection, and a retaining member that locks to the battery cell's resin frame, ensuring safe disconnection and minimizing worker burden by eliminating external force application to the connection points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a power source circuit shut off apparatus is used to shut off the circuit between the battery assembly and load, then safety during maintenance is improved, but the open circuit voltage between battery terminals remains high requiring careful handling
Solution Approach 1:
The battery assembly is segmented into multiple battery cells connected in series. The shut off apparatus connects to adjacent battery cells within the series chain, dividing the high voltage circuit into segments. This allows isolation of a specific segment while maintaining the overall battery assembly structure intact.
Solution Approach 2:
The shut off apparatus acts as an intermediary device inserted between adjacent battery cells in the series connection. By providing a switchable connection point within the battery assembly rather than at the external terminals, it mediates the disconnection internally, allowing external terminals to remain at high potential while the working circuit is safely isolated.
2Reliability
If bus bars are connected to adjacent battery cells with a switch section, then the open circuit voltage can be made zero when shut off, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The housing integrates multiple functions: it contains the switch section, provides structural support, and incorporates retaining members for attachment to the battery assembly. The bus bars are integrated with the switch section, eliminating the need for separate connection components and reducing overall structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The switch section serves multiple functions: it provides electrical connection/disconnection, houses the bus bars for current flow, and integrates with the housing structure that attaches to the battery assembly. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed.
3Strength
If the housing is locked to the resin frame part of the battery cell, then external force during operation is prevented from damaging battery cells, but the attachment structure requires additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining members are integrated directly into the housing structure as protruding features rather than being separate attachment components. This merging of the attachment mechanism into the main housing body eliminates the need for additional brackets, clips, or fasteners, reducing component count while maintaining protective function.
Data Source
AI summary
A power source circuit shut off apparatus shuts off a circuit of a battery assembly in which plural battery cells connected in series are arranged in parallel. The power source circuit shut off apparatus includes a housing, a pair of bus bars that is arranged in the housing and is connected to the adjacent battery cells respectively, a switch section that is adapted to conduct electrical connection or disconnection between the pair of bus bars, and a retaining member which is formed on the housing and is configured to be retained to a resin frame part of a side surface of the battery cell.