Battery Cell Contact Marking for Precise Single-End Connection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for electrical contacting of battery cells face challenges in accurately localizing and reliably connecting small contact regions, particularly in single-end configurations, due to contamination and production tolerances, which can lead to incorrect contacting or short-circuiting.
Innovation Solution
A method using laser beams with varying energies to clean and mark the contact regions of battery cells, enabling precise localization and connection through predefined spatial relationships and markings, allowing for improved reliability and efficiency in electrical contacting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If optical recognition methods are used to identify contact regions, then the method is simple and fast, but contamination on the cell surface reduces measurement precision and reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The laser cleaning step is performed before the optical recognition and contacting operations. By removing contamination in advance, the subsequent optical recognition achieves higher precision without compromising the overall process speed. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction by preparing the surface optimally before measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The process is segmented into distinct steps: laser cleaning, marking, and optical recognition/contacting. Each step operates independently with optimized parameters, allowing the cleaning step to improve measurement precision without affecting the speed of subsequent identification steps.
2Volume of moving object
If single-end contacting configuration is used, then the battery structure is compact, but the contact regions have small surfaces making reliable contacting more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The laser marking creates localized high-contrast features precisely at the contact regions. This local modification enhances the optical detectability of the small contact surfaces without changing the overall compact single-end configuration. The marking ensures reliable identification and positioning despite the limited surface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The laser marking alters the optical properties (reflectivity/absorption) of the contact region, creating a visible contrast that enables reliable optical detection. This color/optical property change allows the small contact surfaces to be accurately identified and positioned, improving contacting reliability in the compact configuration.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If laser cleaning is applied to the entire potentially usable region, then contamination is thoroughly removed, but the cleaning time and energy utilization increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of cleaning the entire potentially usable region, the laser cleaning is extracted and applied only to the specific sub-region that requires electrical contacting. This selective approach removes contamination where needed while minimizing cleaning time and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning action is applied partially, only to the necessary sub-region rather than the entire surface. This partial action is sufficient to achieve the required cleanliness for reliable contacting while significantly reducing the time and energy costs compared to full-surface cleaning.
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 method enhances the reliability and speed of electrical contacting by ensuring uniform boundary conditions, faster identification of contact regions, and reduced risk of incorrect connections, thereby improving the production process of battery packs.
Implementation Method 1
a laser beam having a first beam energy is used to remove contamination in at least one region, provided for electrical contacting, of an electrically conductive outer surface of a first cell of the battery
Implementation Method 2
a laser beam having a second beam energy, which is higher than the first beam energy, is used to generate at least one marking in the outer surface of the first cell
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an apparatus for electrical contacting of cells of a battery. The method includes: using a laser beam having a first beam energy to remove contamination in a region, provided for electrical contacting, of an electrically conductive outer surface of a first cell of the battery; using a laser beam having a second beam energy higher than the first, to generate at least one marking in the outer surface of the first cell, the marking having a predefined spatial relationship to the region provided for electrical contacting; and electrically contacting the first cell using a connecting apparatus, the marking being used by the connecting apparatus to localize that region of the first cell which is provided for electrical contacting in order to connect said region by way of an electrically conductive connecting element to a region, provided for electrical contacting, of a second cell of the battery.