Battery Cell Protective Cover With Pressure-Release Weak Section
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery cells are prone to thermal runaway due to uncontrolled reactions, which can lead to propagation and require improved protection mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A protective cover with a main protective wall and a weakened section that breaks under pressure, along with alignment elements for busbars and auxiliary electronic equipment, to mitigate thermal runaway and facilitate assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protective cover is designed to be sealed and robust for protecting battery cells from thermal runaway propagation, then protection effectiveness is improved, but manufacturing complexity and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover is divided into a main body and a separate lid that can be attached or detached. The main body includes the side walls and bottom, while the lid covers the top opening. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured independently with optimized processes, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining protection effectiveness when assembled together.
Solution Approach 2:
A sealing element is introduced as an intermediary component between the protective cover and the battery cell. This sealing element ensures tight sealing and effective thermal runaway protection without requiring complex integrated sealing structures in the cover itself, thereby simplifying the cover's manufacturing while maintaining high reliability.
2Reliability
If a protective cover is designed with a robust and sealed structure to prevent thermal runaway propagation, then protection effectiveness is improved, but assembly ease deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the protective cover into a main body and a separate lid, assembly becomes a simple process of placing the lid onto the main body and securing it with attachment elements. This segmented design allows for easy assembly and disassembly without requiring complex tools or procedures, while the combined structure maintains effective thermal runaway protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment elements are pre-configured on the main body of the protective cover, with positioning features that guide the lid into correct alignment during assembly. This preliminary configuration of attachment and positioning elements ensures that assembly is straightforward and error-proof, improving ease of operation while maintaining protection effectiveness.
3Ease of operation
If alignment elements are added to facilitate busbar and electronic equipment alignment, then assembly ease is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Alignment elements are merged with the existing attachment elements on the protective cover. The same structural features that attach the lid to the main body also serve as alignment guides for busbars and electronic equipment. This multi-functionality approach improves assembly ease without significantly increasing device complexity, as the same components perform multiple functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment elements on the protective cover are designed with universal functionality, serving both as mechanical connectors for assembling the cover and as alignment guides for positioning busbars and electronic equipment. This multi-functional design simplifies the overall device structure while facilitating easier assembly operations.
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 protective cover effectively prevents thermal runaway propagation while enabling easy alignment and attachment, resulting in a more robust and cost-efficient configuration.
Implementation Method 1
a weakened section which is configured to break when a pressure is applied onto the bottom surface at the weakened section which is above a pressure threshold
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a protective cover for protecting a battery cell top surface of a battery cell, comprising a main protective wall and a side wall protruding downwardly from the main protective wall and extending around an outer perimeter of the main protective wall such that an inner surface of the side wall and the bottom surface of the main protective wall defines a space with a height corresponding to a height of the side wall. The disclosure also relates to a cover assembly, a battery cell assembly, and a vehicle.