Battery Holding Structure for Creepage Insulation Tolerance Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery modules face challenges in ensuring electrical insulation between energy storage elements and metallic exterior bodies, particularly due to dimensional tolerances that can lead to gaps between flange portions, compromising insulation.
Innovation Solution
The energy storage apparatus incorporates a holding member with a bottom surface cover portion and a protruding portion that separates the cover portion from the metallic exterior body's bottom wall, ensuring a longer creepage distance for electrical insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flange portions are arrayed to contact each other for insulation, then electrical insulation is improved, but dimensional tolerance causes gaps that lower insulation reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protruding portion as an intermediary element between the bottom wall portion and the bottom surface cover portion. This protruding portion acts as a mediator that maintains the insulation function even when dimensional tolerances prevent perfect contact between the flange portions. The protruding portion ensures that the insulation path is preserved regardless of manufacturing variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding portion is pre-configured in the structure to anticipate and compensate for potential gaps that may arise from dimensional tolerances. By establishing the insulation path in advance through the protruding portion, the design ensures insulation reliability without requiring perfect manufacturing precision.
2Reliability
If flange portions are made to contact for insulation, then insulation is improved, but the structure becomes complex with multiple components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protruding portion with either the exterior body or the holding member, consolidating the insulation function into an existing structural element rather than adding a separate insulation component. This integration maintains insulation reliability while avoiding increased structural complexity.
3Reliability
If protruding portion is added for insulation, then electrical insulation is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protruding portion is integrated into either the exterior body or the holding member as a unified structure. This merging approach allows the protruding portion to be manufactured together with the base component using the same process, avoiding the need for separate manufacturing steps and reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An energy storage apparatus includes an energy storage element, a metallic exterior body, and a holding member. The energy storage element includes a side surface and a bottom surface, and the side surface is oriented in a first direction and the bottom surface is oriented in a second direction. The exterior body includes a bottom wall portion opposed to the bottom surface. The holding member includes a holding body portion extending along the side surface and a bottom surface cover portion connected to an end portion of the holding body portion and covers the bottom surface of the energy storage element. At least one of the exterior body and the holding member is provided with a protruding portion separating the bottom wall portion and the bottom surface cover portion, and size of the protruding portion fits within an array range of the bottom surface cover portion.