Battery Cell Venting Structure to Prevent Terminal Short Circuits
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Solution Overview
Problem
In existing battery cells, the terminals can tilt and potentially short circuit with adjacent cells due to expansion of the storage portion, making it difficult to suppress such short circuits.
Innovation Solution
A battery cell design with a first internal space and a second internal space that communicate through a temporary sealing portion, allowing gas release while preventing short circuits by controlling pressure and terminal positioning, and using an elastic material to fix the cell position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If the storage portion and expansion portion are in communication at a lower surface of the battery element, then gas can be released from the battery element, but the terminal drawn out from the upper surface may tilt toward another battery cell causing short circuit
Solution Approach 1:
A temporary sealing portion is introduced as an intermediary component between the storage portion and expansion portion. This sealing portion selectively blocks or allows communication between the two portions based on pressure conditions, mediating between gas release requirements and terminal protection needs
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal is positioned in advance within a terminal positioning groove that prevents tilting before any expansion occurs. This preliminary positioning ensures that even when the expansion portion expands later, the terminal cannot tilt toward adjacent cells
2Temperature
If the expansion portion expands to form a heat dissipation path, then heat dissipation between adjacent battery cells is improved, but the terminal may come into contact with adjacent battery cells
Solution Approach 1:
The communication between storage portion and expansion portion is established through a side surface rather than a lower surface connection. This dimensional change in the communication path allows the expansion portion to expand laterally for heat dissipation while the terminal positioning groove maintains terminal stability in the vertical dimension
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively suppresses short circuits between adjacent battery cells by managing gas expansion and terminal movement, ensuring stable cell positioning and heat conduction.
Implementation Method 1
the temporary sealing portion blocks the first internal space and the second internal space from each other in a state in which a pressure of the first internal space is less than or equal to a predetermined pressure, and allows the first internal space and the second internal space to be in communication with each other in a state in which the pressure of the first internal space is higher than the predetermined pressure
Implementation Method 2
the second portion is pressed toward the first portion by an elastic material
Implementation Method 3
a heat conductive element is thermally bonded to the first portion
Data Source
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AI summary
A battery cell (10) includes a battery element (100) that has two end surfaces located opposite to each other and a predetermined portion located between the two end surfaces, and has a front terminal (310) or a rear terminal (320) disposed on at least one of the two end surfaces, and an exterior material (400) that has an accommodation portion (410) that defines an internal space for accommodating the battery element (100) and a pocket portion (420) that defines an internal space for allowing gas generated from the internal space of the accommodation portion (410) to enter. The pocket portion (420) is drawn out from a portion that covers the predetermined portion of the battery element (100) in the accommodation portion (410).