Battery Module Bus Bar Shorting Triggered by Cell Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery modules struggle to reliably prevent overcharge and short circuits due to expansion, leading to potential swelling, heat generation, and safety hazards, as existing safety mechanisms fail to consistently interrupt current flow during abnormal conditions.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring a short-circuit unit that moves to connect first and second bus bars upon cell expansion, causing a controlled short circuit and fracturing a fracturing portion to interrupt current flow, using a slide bar and buffering member to manage the expansion force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protection circuit and PTC element are used to prevent overcharge and overheating, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery cell's own expansion during overcharge directly drives the short-circuit mechanism through the slide bar, eliminating the need for external sensors or control circuits. The system uses its own abnormal state (expansion) to trigger the safety response, achieving self-protection without adding complex monitoring devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful expansion of the battery cell during overcharge is converted into a useful force that drives the slide bar to create a short circuit. The adverse effect (expansion) becomes the triggering mechanism for safety protection, eliminating the need for separate detection and response systems.
2Reliability
If a short-circuit unit is designed to move and connect bus bars upon expansion, then overcharge prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The slide bar serves multiple functions: it acts as a mechanical connector between battery cells during normal operation, a displacement sensor that detects expansion, and a actuator that creates the short circuit path. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components for each function, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining effective overcharge prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The structural support function and the safety protection function are merged into a single integrated mechanism. The slide bar both maintains electrical connection between cells and triggers the short-circuit protection, combining what would traditionally require separate components into one unified system.
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 design effectively prevents overcharge by creating a controlled short circuit and fracturing a fracturing portion to stop current flow, enhancing the stability and safety of the battery module.
Implementation Method 1
a short-circuit unit (300) configured to move toward the first bus bar (200a) and the second bus bar (200b) by receiving an expansive force due to a volume increase of a first battery cell (110a)
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a battery module, which includes: a first bus bar electrically connected to a first electrode lead of a first battery cell; a second bus bar electrically connected to a second electrode lead of a second battery cell; a short-circuit unit configured to move toward the first bus bar and the second bus bar by receiving an expansive force due to a volume increase of the first battery cell and another battery cell adjacent to the first battery cell so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are electrically connected to generate a short circuit; and a cartridge configured to accommodate or support at least a portion of the first electrode lead, the second electrode lead, the first bus bar, the second bus bar and the short-circuit unit.