Through-Pack Battery Fasteners for Swelling and Heat Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery configurations are limited by the shape of the cell, impacting packaging, monitoring, and energy density due to challenges in accommodating cell swelling and inefficient heat transfer.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of fasteners that extend through the active regions of battery cells, allowing for improved cell monitoring and heat transfer while reducing the thickness of external components, thereby enhancing energy density and structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional battery configurations are used with cell shape limitations, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but packaging efficiency and energy density deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple battery cells arranged in a modular stackable configuration. Each cell can be independently manufactured and then assembled into various pack configurations, allowing flexible packaging while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from traditional two-dimensional battery layouts to three-dimensional stacked configurations. Multiple battery cells are stacked vertically to utilize z-direction space, significantly improving packaging efficiency and volumetric energy density while maintaining standardized cell manufacturing processes.
2Device complexity
If conventional battery configurations without through-pack fasteners are used, then structural complexity is reduced, but control over cell swelling and heat transfer deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The through-pack fasteners serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide structural support to maintain cell alignment, apply uniform compression to control cell swelling, and conduct heat away from the battery cells. This multi-functionality improves reliability without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The fasteners act as intermediary elements that transmit compression forces uniformly across all battery cells in the stack. This intermediary mechanism ensures consistent pressure distribution for controlling cell swelling and facilitates thermal management through the fastener structure.
3Strength
If external components with greater thickness are used in conventional configurations, then structural support is simplified, but volumetric and gravimetric energy density deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The fasteners merge structural support, compression control, and thermal management functions into a single integrated component. This eliminates the need for separate thick external structural components, thereby reducing overall pack volume and improving volumetric energy density while maintaining adequate structural support.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastener design utilizes thin-walled hollow cylindrical structures that provide sufficient mechanical strength and structural support with minimal material thickness. These thin-film-like fasteners reduce the overall volume occupied by structural components while maintaining the necessary support for battery cell stacks.
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 solution provides improved control over cell swelling, facilitates efficient heat transfer, and enables comprehensive cell monitoring, resulting in increased volumetric and gravimetric energy density.
Implementation Method 1
facilitates efficient heat transfer
Implementation Method 2
improved control over cell swelling
Data Source
AI summary
Energy storage devices, battery cells, and batteries of the present technology may include a first circuit board defining a plurality of apertures through the first circuit board. The batteries may include a battery stack overlying the first circuit board and electrically coupled with the first circuit board. The battery stack may include a plurality of battery cells. The battery stack may define a plurality of apertures axially aligned with a corresponding aperture through the first circuit board. The batteries may include a second circuit board that defines a plurality of apertures through the second circuit board. The batteries may include a plurality of fasteners, each fastener extending through a separate channel of the plurality of channels. The batteries may include a plurality of conductive extensions electrically coupling each battery cell of the battery stack with one or more fasteners of the plurality of fasteners.