Battery Module Housing with Cooling Ribs and Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules for large-volume battery arrangements, such as those powering vehicles, face challenges in ensuring operational reliability and mechanical stability while efficiently dissipating heat and preventing short circuits.
Innovation Solution
The battery module design includes a housing assembly with flexible side walls and a plastic receiving shell for spatial fixation, enhanced heat dissipation through cooling ribs, and a connection system with double-nut terminals and cell connectors that compensate for temperature and manufacturing deviations, along with an insulating film to prevent short circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large number of battery cells are combined into battery modules for vehicle applications, then the drive energy capacity is improved, but the operational reliability and mechanical stability deteriorate due to increased complexity and potential failure points
Solution Approach 1:
The battery system is divided into modular battery modules, each containing a controlled number of battery cells (e.g., 9 cells per module as shown in the patent). This segmentation allows the large battery system to be built from reliable, manageable units while maintaining overall high capacity through parallel connection of multiple modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements tensioning elements and compensation mechanisms that preemptively address potential mechanical failures. The tensioning elements pre-compress the battery cells to compensate for thermal expansion and contraction, preventing mechanical failure before it occurs during operation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If battery cells are tightly fixed in the housing to ensure mechanical stability, then the structural rigidity is improved, but the ability to compensate for temperature changes and manufacturing deviations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic fixing mechanisms including spring elements and tensioning members that can adjust their force according to thermal expansion and manufacturing tolerances. These elements maintain mechanical stability while dynamically adapting to dimensional changes during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing elements are designed to change their mechanical properties (spring constant, pre-compression force) based on temperature variations. The spring elements naturally adjust their compression force as temperature changes, maintaining optimal contact pressure on battery cells across different operating conditions.
3Strength
If the housing is designed with rigid walls to ensure mechanical strength, then the structural strength is improved, but the heat dissipation capability deteriorates due to reduced surface area and airflow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds thermal management functionality in a new dimension by incorporating cooling channels and heat sinks into the housing structure. The housing transitions from being merely a protective enclosure to an active thermal management system that dissipates heat through integrated fluid passages and increased surface area heat exchange structures.
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
This design achieves a reliable, compact, and mechanically stable battery module with improved heat dissipation and electrical insulation, ensuring consistent performance and safety across multiple battery cells.
Implementation Method 1
In order to improve the heat dissipation from the battery unit, it can be expedient to design a large number of cooling ribs on the outer surface of the side walls of the housing assembly of the battery module
Implementation Method 2
Alternatively or cumulatively, the side walls of the housing assembly mentioned can also be water-cooled or air-cooled
Data Source
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AI summary
A battery module for battery arrangements comprising a plurality of such battery modules (1) has a battery unit (2) comprising a plurality of interconnected battery cells (3), a housing assembly (12, 13, 14) with a base plate (12) and two opposing side walls (13, 14) which are preferably connectable to the base plate (12) by means of screw connections (19) and have longitudinal projections (16) on their lower longitudinal edges (15) on their inner side, which engage in longitudinal recesses (18) formed on associated longitudinal edges (17) of the base plate (12), and a receiving shell (20) made of plastic, which rests on the inner side of the base plate (12) and has upwardly projecting flanges (21, 22) on its longitudinal sides, between which a lower section of the battery unit (2) of the battery module (1) can be received, and a control assembly (4, 5)which has a control board (4) for monitoring and regulating the operation of the battery unit (2) and a support frame (5) which is mounted on the battery unit (2) and on which cell connectors are arranged, by means of which two battery cells (3) of the battery unit (2) can be connected to each other.