Battery Pack Cover Frame Rib Design for Tight Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery pack manufacturing processes face challenges in achieving high yield and cost-effective production of a cover frame that is tightly coupled to the side surfaces of bare cells, while ensuring easy formability and adequate support.
Innovation Solution
A cover frame design featuring ribs and support portions on the cover frame, specifically formed on the third and fourth frames, which are strategically positioned to facilitate easy insertion and secure the bare cell, made from an elastic material to enhance moldability and support the battery pack's surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cover frame is designed with ribs and support portions to tightly couple to the bare cell, then the coupling tightness and structural support are improved, but the manufacturing complexity and molding cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cover frame incorporates ribs only at specific locations (third and fourth frames corresponding to opposing short side surfaces) rather than uniformly across the entire frame. This localized reinforcement provides necessary coupling tightness at critical areas while minimizing overall material usage and molding complexity, thereby resolving the contradiction between coupling reliability and manufacturing ease
Solution Approach 2:
The cover frame is divided into multiple segments (first, second, third, and fourth frames) with ribs and support portions strategically placed only in specific segments (third and fourth frames). This segmentation allows the structure to achieve tight coupling where needed while keeping other areas simple for easier manufacturing and lower cost
2Strength
If the cover frame is designed with ribs and support portions to securely support the bare cell, then the structural integrity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Ribs and support portions are implemented only in specific regions (third and fourth frames) where structural support is most needed for the bare cell, rather than uniformly across the entire cover frame. This localized approach enhances structural integrity at critical points while minimizing the overall complexity of the cover frame design
Solution Approach 2:
The cover frame is segmented into four distinct frames with reinforcement features concentrated in only two segments (third and fourth frames). This segmentation strategy provides adequate structural support for the bare cell while keeping the overall design simpler by avoiding unnecessary complexity in the first and second frames
3Ease of manufacture
If the cover frame is made from elastic material to enhance moldability, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the structural strength may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cover frame is made from elastic material, which changes the material parameter from rigid to flexible. This enhances moldability and ease of manufacture during assembly, allowing the frame to be easily formed and coupled to the bare cell. The elastic property enables the material to deform during molding and then recover, providing both manufacturability and adequate structural strength
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic material is strategically used in combination with localized rib structures in the third and fourth frames. The elastic base material provides moldability and ease of manufacture, while the localized rigid rib features provide enhanced structural strength where needed, creating a composite solution that balances both requirements
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 allows for reduced molding costs and improved yield by enabling easy formation of the cover frame, while providing robust support to the battery pack's surfaces, enhancing its structural integrity and ease of assembly.
Implementation Method 1
The cover frame may be made of an elastic material
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack having a cover frame configured to be tightly coupled to the four side surfaces of a bare cell. The cover frame includes a rectangular cell receiving part framed by four frame parts, wherein each of the four frame parts include a support section for supporting the lower case of the bare cell, and three of the frame parts include ribs supporting the upper case of the bare cell, wherein a fourth one of the frame parts includes tab receiving grooves supporting the electrode tabs extending from the bare cell. The cover frame further includes a protection circuit module receiving part adjacent to, and separated from the cell receiving part by the fourth one of the frame parts.