Prismatic Battery Cell Sealing via Protruding Housing Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules, particularly lithium-ion batteries, face challenges in achieving reliable sealing of electrochemical components, which can lead to temperature control issues and potential leakage.
Innovation Solution
A battery cell design featuring a prismatic housing with a second housing element that protrudes beyond the first housing element, incorporating a sealing element and voltage taps accessible from the surface, allowing for reliable sealing and temperature control without compromising the integrity of the electrochemical components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the second housing element is designed to protrude beyond the first housing element to provide a sealing surface, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two separate housing elements (first and second housing elements) with distinct functions. The first housing element contains the electrochemical components while the second housing element provides the sealing surface and voltage tap access. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized for its specific function, improving overall sealing reliability without requiring a completely redesigned complex housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The second housing element protrudes beyond the first housing element in the axial direction, creating a stepped configuration. This dimensional change provides a dedicated sealing surface area that is accessible from the outside, enabling reliable sealing of the battery cell while maintaining a compact overall structure.
2Ease of operation
If the voltage tap is arranged on the first surface of the second housing element for direct access, then ease of operation is improved, but sealing reliability may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The second housing element is designed with differentiated regions: a first surface for voltage tap access and a second surface for sealing. The sealing element is positioned at the periphery where it can provide sealing without interfering with the centrally located voltage tap contacts on the first surface. This local differentiation allows both electrical accessibility and sealing reliability to be achieved simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element acts as an intermediary component that seals the periphery of the battery cell where the first and second housing elements meet. This allows the voltage tap to be accessed through the second housing element's first surface without compromising the seal, as the sealing function is handled separately at the peripheral interface between housing elements.
3Reliability
If the sealing element is positioned at the periphery of the battery cell, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing element is pre-positioned and connected to the second housing element during the housing assembly process, before the battery cell is fully assembled. The second housing element's protruding structure provides a predetermined positioning feature that guides the sealing element into its correct peripheral position, reducing the precision requirements for subsequent assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element is designed as a flexible component that can deform to accommodate minor variations in manufacturing tolerances of the housing elements. This flexibility allows the sealing element to maintain effective sealing contact at the periphery even with moderate manufacturing variations, reducing the stringency of precision requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery cell having a first housing element (4) which holds the electrochemical components of the battery cell (2) and has an opening (6), and a second housing element (5) which has a voltage tap (7) to be accessed from a first surface (8) of the second housing element (5), the second housing element (5) closes off the opening (6) so that a first part region (91) of a second surface (9) of the second housing element (5) is immediately adjacent the interior space (10) of the first housing element (4), and that a second part region (92) of the second surface (9) of the second housing element (5) protrudes beyond the first housing element (4), wherein the second housing element (5) comprises a sealing element (11) connected to the first surface (8) and/or to the second part region (92) of the second surface (9).