Battery and electric apparatus

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing battery end plates face challenges in maintaining both strength and insulation, particularly during thermal runaway, leading to potential high-voltage short circuits due to insufficient coverage of insulating materials.

Innovation Solution

An insulating member with increased coverage is positioned on the end plate, ensuring it fully covers the top surface, enhancing insulation and preventing short circuits by maintaining adequate creepage distances and electrical gaps.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Volume of moving object

If the insulating member has smaller dimensions, then the battery volume is reduced, but the insulation coverage is insufficient leading to potential short circuits

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebattery volumeVSAvoidinsulation reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The insulating member is designed with dimensions that exceed the minimum requirements (A≥0.9B) to provide excessive insulation coverage. This ensures that even if partial melting occurs during thermal runaway, sufficient insulation coverage remains to prevent short circuits, while still controlling the overall volume increase.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Reliability

If the insulating member coverage is increased, then the insulation reliability is improved, but the battery volume increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinsulation reliabilityVSAvoidbattery volume
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent optimizes the dimensional parameters of the insulating member, specifically setting its length A to be at least 0.9 times the length B of the end plate. This parameter relationship ensures adequate insulation coverage while minimizing unnecessary volume, achieving a balance between reliability and compactness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the insulating member melts during thermal runaway, then the insulation protection is lost, but with sufficient coverage the creepage distances remain adequate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveshort circuit preventionVSAvoidthermal runaway resistance
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The insulating member is designed with sufficient coverage area before thermal runaway occurs. This pre-designed excessive coverage acts as a cushion, ensuring that even if the insulating material melts during thermal runaway, there remains enough coverage to maintain adequate creepage distances and prevent short circuits.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Data Source

PatentEP4120468B1Battery and electric apparatus
Publication Date: 2026.04.01 CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY (HONG KONG) LIMITED
  • EP4120468B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4120468B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP4120468B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

Embodiments of this application relate to the technical field of batteries, and in particular, to a battery (200) and an electric apparatus. The battery (200) includes: a plurality of battery cells (400) arranged in a first direction; an end plate (201) disposed at an end of the plurality of battery cells (400) in the first direction; and an insulating member (203) for connecting with the end plate (201), where the insulating member (203) is arranged on the top surface of the end plate (201) in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction; where the insulating member (203) has a maximum length A in a third direction, the end plate (201) has a maximum length B in the third direction, where A≥0.9B and the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. The battery (200) provided in the embodiments of this application can not only guarantee strength and insulation requirements on the end plate (201) in normal use of the battery (200), but also reduce risks of high voltage short circuit in thermal runaway of the battery (200).