Battery Can Design for Uniform Stack Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery designs face challenges in providing sufficient pressure to the battery stack, leading to reduced performance and lifespan due to swelling issues and inconsistent contact between the battery and its enclosure, especially in compact mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
A battery can design featuring two fitted surfaces oriented opposite each other, welded together along the perimeter to form an enclosure, which applies increased pressure to the battery stack through reduced gap sizes and uniform pressure distribution, utilizing varying wall thicknesses and support structures to enhance performance and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional battery designs are used with standard enclosures, then manufacturing is simpler, but pressure on the battery stack is insufficient leading to swelling and reduced performance
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is divided into two separate fitted surfaces (first and second fitted surfaces) that are welded together along a perimeter. This segmentation allows each surface to be independently formed with precise geometric features, enabling the application of uniform pressure to the battery stack while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through separate fabrication and assembly of the two portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The fitted surfaces incorporate local geometric features including varying wall thicknesses, recesses, and protrusions at specific locations. These localized structural variations enable targeted pressure application to different regions of the battery stack, preventing swelling in critical areas while maintaining overall structural integrity and performance.
2Reliability
If the battery can applies increased pressure to the battery stack, then swelling is resisted and performance improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fitted surfaces are pre-formed with precise geometric features including recesses and protrusions before assembly. This preliminary action ensures that when the two portions are welded together, the battery stack is automatically positioned and constrained with uniform pressure, eliminating the need for post-assembly adjustments and reducing tolerance requirements during welding.
Solution Approach 2:
The first and second fitted surfaces feature asymmetric geometric configurations with complementary recesses and protrusions. This asymmetry enables precise interlocking and uniform pressure distribution across the battery stack, compensating for manufacturing variations and ensuring consistent performance while maintaining feasible manufacturing tolerances.
3Reliability
If uniform pressure distribution is applied to the battery stack, then swelling is prevented and performance increases, but the enclosure structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure distribution function is merged into the enclosure structure itself through the fitted surfaces. The complementary recesses and protrusions on the first and second fitted surfaces work together as an integrated system to apply uniform pressure, eliminating the need for separate pressure distribution components and maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
Strategic placement of recesses and protrusions at specific locations on the fitted surfaces creates localized pressure points that collectively distribute pressure uniformly across the battery stack. This local quality approach achieves uniform pressure distribution through distributed localized features rather than requiring complex overall structural modifications.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present disclosure involve various battery can designs. In general, the battery can design includes two fitted surfaces oriented opposite each other and seam welded together to form an enclosure in which a battery stack is located. To form the enclosure, the two fitted surfaces are welded together along the large perimeter. Other swelling-resisting advantages may also be achieved utilizing the battery can design described herein including, but not limited to, the ability to modify one or more can wall thicknesses to control a pressure applied to the battery stack by the can, overall reduction in wall thickness of the can through the use of stronger materials for the can surfaces, additional supports structures included within the can design, and/or bossing or other localized thinning of surfaces of the can.