Battery Pack Mechanical Connection Member Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing secondary battery packs face challenges with electrical connections that require welding or soldering, leading to complex processes, safety risks, and increased production costs, as well as issues with size and stability due to the need for partitions and high elastic forces, which are not suitable for long-term use.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design that uses a connection member elastically pressed between cylindrical battery cells without partitions, allowing for mechanical coupling and physical contact to maintain stable electrical connections without welding or soldering, enabling easy assembly and separation of defective cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If welding or soldering is used to connect electrode terminals, then electrical connection reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the welding/soldering process with a mechanical pressing system. The connection member is pressed against the electrode terminals to create electrical contact through mechanical force, eliminating the need for thermal welding processes. This substitution simplifies manufacturing while maintaining connection reliability through elastic contact pressure.
2Reliability
If partitions are added to the pack case to support connection members, then connection stability is improved, but battery pack size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pack case base is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides structural support for the battery cells, contains the receiving grooves for positioning, and directly supports the connection members through its elastic deformation. This eliminates the need for separate partition structures, maintaining connection stability while avoiding increased pack size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of the pack case base and the support structure into a single integrated component. The base itself provides the support function through elastic deformation, combining the structural case and support elements into one piece, thereby avoiding additional space requirements for separate partitions.
3Reliability
If high elastic force is applied to connection members, then electrical connection stability is improved, but creep phenomena occur during long-term use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters of the connection member by using an elastic body with specifically controlled elastic modulus. The elastic modulus is designed to be within a specific range to provide sufficient contact pressure for stable electrical connection while avoiding excessive force that would cause creep in the pack case base during long-term use.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection member is designed with non-uniform cross-sectional area, being thicker at the contact portions with electrode terminals and thinner in intermediate sections. This local quality variation concentrates the elastic force where needed for electrical contact while reducing overall stress on the pack case base, preventing creep phenomena during long-term use.
4Ease of manufacture
If cylindrical batteries are arranged in line-type or plane-type structure, then manufacturing ease is improved, but space utilization efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional line-type or plane-type arrangements to a three-dimensional stacked structure. Battery cells are arranged in multiple layers vertically stacked within the pack case, utilizing the height dimension to improve space utilization. This maintains manufacturing ease through standardized receiving grooves while significantly improving space efficiency compared to linear or planar arrangements.
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 solution provides a stable and efficient electrical connection that maintains reliability under external impacts, reduces production costs, and prevents size increases, while allowing for long-term use without creep phenomena, thus enhancing the safety and efficiency of secondary battery packs.
Implementation Method 1
the connection member is elastically pressed while the connection member is located between the battery cells
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a battery pack constructed in a structure in which a plurality of secondary battery cells are electrically connected to one another via a connection member while the secondary battery cells are mounted in a receiving part of a pack case having no partition, wherein the connection member is located between the battery cells arranged in the longitudinal direction or in both the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, the connection member is connected, in a mechanical coupling manner, to a lower electrode terminal of the front battery cell in the longitudinal direction and/or to an upper electrode terminal of the rear battery cell in the longitudinal direction, and the connection member is elastically pressed while the connection member is located between the battery cells.