Battery Case Asymmetric Nut Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cases with resin coatings at output terminals face issues where nuts fall when the case is tilted during nut insertion, making it difficult to secure external output lines to the terminals.
Innovation Solution
The battery case design includes sloped nut holding portions and stepped nut placing portions to securely hold nuts in place, preventing them from falling even when the case is tilted, using a combination of flat plate portions and bolt insertion holes to ensure the nut is sandwiched and fixed between these features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a resin coating is provided at the output terminal and a nut receiving surface is provided to prevent nut falling, then the nut can be held in place, but when the battery case is tilted so that the front side is lower than the back side, the nut still falls and the external output line cannot be easily secured
Solution Approach 1:
The nut receiving surface is designed with an asymmetric sloped shape where the distance from the nut holding portion to the flat plate portion is shorter on the back side than on the front side along the nut insertion direction. This asymmetric geometry creates a self-centering effect that guides the nut into the correct position and prevents it from falling when the battery case is tilted.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution transitions from a simple flat nut receiving surface to a three-dimensional sloped surface with varying distances from the flat plate portion. By introducing this dimensional variation, the nut is guided into a precise holding position that maintains retention reliability regardless of battery case orientation.
2Device complexity
If a flat nut receiving surface is used, then the structure is simple, but the nut falls when the battery case is tilted
Solution Approach 1:
The nut receiving surface employs an asymmetric sloped configuration where the distance from the nut holding portion to the flat plate portion varies along the insertion direction, being shorter on the back side. This asymmetric design provides reliable nut retention while maintaining relatively simple manufacturing processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery case that includes an outer case that houses a battery, and an output terminal on an outer side of the outer case and having a first flat plate portion defining a first bolt insertion hole, and a second flat plate portion orthogonal to the first flat plate portion. The battery case and the output terminal define therebetween a first nut holding portion configured to hold a nut between the second flat plate portion of the output terminal and the first nut holding portion, the first nut holding portion having a sloped shape where a distance between the first nut holding portion and the second flat plate portion of the output terminal is shorter on a back side than on a front side thereof along a nut insertion direction.