Modular Battery Pack Cell Assembly with Spacer Extension Contacts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle battery packs used in electric and hybrid vehicles face performance deterioration due to high-rate charging and discharging, making them less efficient over time, and existing solutions do not facilitate easy reuse or efficient electrical conduction between cell assemblies.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring cell assemblies with spacers and connecting members that provide electrical insulation and extension portions for secure contact, allowing for easy detachment and reuse, while maintaining reliable electrical conduction through a restraining member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bus bars with fixing ribs are used to connect battery modules, then electrical conduction between modules is achieved, but the structure becomes complex and difficult to disassemble for reuse
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the battery pack into modular cell assemblies, each consisting of a cell with spacers and connecting members. This segmentation allows each module to be independently assembled and disassembled, simplifying the overall structure while maintaining reliable electrical conduction through the standardized connecting members that extend from spacers on adjacent cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the electrical connection function from the structural support function by using separate connecting members that extend from spacers. The spacers provide mechanical support and positioning, while the connecting members specifically handle electrical conduction, allowing for easier disassembly and reuse of components.
2Quantity of substance
If battery modules are tightly assembled for high capacity, then energy density improves, but disassembly and reuse become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting members are designed with extension portions that protrude from the spacers before assembly, allowing for preliminary positioning and alignment of cells. This preliminary action facilitates easy insertion and removal during assembly and disassembly processes while maintaining tight packing for high capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs spacers and connecting members that allow for dynamic assembly and disassembly. The spacers maintain fixed spacing between cells during operation for high density, but the entire cell assembly can be easily removed from the battery pack by detaching the connecting members, enabling reuse and reconfiguration.
3Power
If multiple battery modules are connected in series for high power output, then performance increases, but the battery pack becomes larger and harder to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is segmented into multiple cell assemblies connected in series to achieve high power output. Each cell assembly is a self-contained module with integrated spacers and connecting members, making the overall system more manageable for maintenance and repair operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacers and connecting members are designed as universal components that serve multiple functions: providing mechanical support, maintaining cell spacing, enabling electrical conduction, and facilitating assembly/disassembly. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, simplifying maintenance while supporting high power configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes a plurality of cell assemblies arranged side by side, and a restraining member restraining the plurality of cell assemblies along a direction in which the cell assemblies are arranged. Each of the plurality of cell assemblies includes a cell, a first spacer, a second spacer, a first connecting member, and a second connecting member. In adjacent cell assemblies, either one of the first and second extension portions of one of the adjacent cell assemblies and either one of the first and second extension portions of the other one of the adjacent cell assemblies are overlapped on each other between the first spacer and the second spacer that are overlapped on each other.