Battery Module Cell Holders Restrict Movement and Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery assemblies face reliability issues due to excessive stress on electrode tabs and joints during impacts, which can shorten battery life, and increasing cover member thickness to restrict movement degrades cooling performance.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring a laminate of flattened rectangular battery cells with cell holders that restrict movement in the thickness direction and engage with side plates, maintaining excellent cooling performance without requiring excessively high component strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the thickness of cover members is increased to restrict battery cell movement during impact, then the reliability of joints is improved, but the cooling performance of battery cells deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the support function into two separate components: cell holders that directly contact and support battery cells, and cover members that provide structural protection. This segmentation allows the cell holders to be optimized for support function while cover members focus on protection, eliminating the need for excessively thick cover members and preserving cooling performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The cell holders act as intermediary components between the battery cells and the cover members. These holders transmit the support and restriction functions from the cover member system to the battery cells, allowing the cover members to be thinner while still providing adequate protection through the intermediary cell holders.
2Strength
If the strength of components holding battery cells is increased to prevent movement, then the reliability against impact is improved, but the cooling performance deteriorates due to increased thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The support function is segmented and assigned to specialized cell holders with optimized geometries (protruding portions, recesses, engagement structures) rather than relying on increased thickness of general cover members. This allows high strength where needed for support while maintaining thin profiles for cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The cell holders exhibit local quality variations with different geometries and engagement structures at different locations to provide targeted support and restriction forces exactly where needed, rather than uniformly increasing the strength and thickness of all cover members, thereby preserving overall cooling performance.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery module including a plurality of battery cells that prevents the movement of the battery cells due to impact and has excellent cooling performance of the battery cells includes a battery cell group including a laminate of a plurality of flattened rectangular battery cells stacked in a thickness direction of the battery cells, and a housing storing the battery cell group. The battery cell group includes a plurality of cell holders configured to hold the individual battery cells from both sides in the thickness direction, and a plurality of side plates disposed at both ends of the plurality of battery cells in a width direction via the plurality of cell holders. Each of the cell holders has a restriction portion configured to restrict movement of the corresponding battery cell in a direction intersecting the thickness direction, and fixing portions that engage with the side plates.