Angled Cooling Sheet Edges for Battery Gas Diversion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Battery units with stacked flat cells and metal cooling sheets face safety risks due to gas leaks and flames from overheating or electrical incidents, leading to potential chain reactions and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
The design features angled edges on metal cooling sheets that overlap to form die gaps, redirecting gases and flames laterally, and curling the sheets near edges to prevent cell sliding, enhancing protection and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal cooling sheets have edges bent at 90 degrees to cover cells form-fittingly, then connection to heat sink is improved, but gas leaks and flames can still reach adjacent cells causing chain reactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the edge geometry from a simple 90-degree bend to an angled configuration (45-60 degrees) that creates a three-dimensional gap structure. This dimensional change redirects gas and flame flow paths away from adjacent cells while preserving the cooling function, effectively adding a protective spatial dimension to the design.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of trying to completely seal or block the edges which would compromise cooling efficiency, the patent utilizes the inevitable gaps between metal sheets by angling them to redirect harmful gas and flame flows laterally. The harmful leakage paths are converted into controlled diversion channels that protect adjacent cells while maintaining thermal management functionality.
2Ease of manufacture
If standard metal cooling sheets are used without angled edges, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but cells are not protected against gas leaks and flames from faulty cells
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies a single geometric parameter of the metal cooling sheet - the edge angle - changing it from the conventional 90 degrees to an optimized range of 45-60 degrees. This parameter change simultaneously achieves both manufacturing feasibility (using standard bending processes) and enhanced safety (redirecting gas and flame flows), resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
3Reliability
If angled edges are implemented to redirect gases laterally, then protection against chain reactions is improved, but device complexity increases due to specific edge configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the angled edge configuration only to specific critical areas - the edges of the metal cooling sheets that interface with adjacent cells. This localized application of the angled geometry provides maximum protective benefit where gas and flame diversion is most needed, while avoiding unnecessary complexity in other portions of the battery unit structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery unit with a stack of flat cells, with cooling sheets between adjacent cells. The cooling sheets at an upper end thereof have at least one bended edge, with the edges of adjacent cooling sheets being aligned spatially in the same direction. The bended edges of adjacent cooling sheets partially overlap in order to form die gaps which are also aligned spatially in the same direction.