Battery Pack Manual Service Disconnect with Interlocking Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery pack manual service disconnect systems fail to completely prevent electric shock during maintenance due to potential differences between battery electrodes and the case, even when disconnected, due to abnormal insulation issues.
Innovation Solution
A manual service disconnect system with four levels of high-voltage terminals and interlocking terminals on both the base and upper cover assemblies, ensuring simultaneous disconnection of both positive and negative electrodes from their respective circuits when the upper cover is separated, and utilizing a low-voltage power supply loop to control the disconnection of high-voltage loops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional manual service disconnect with single high-voltage terminal disconnection is used, then the device complexity is low, but the safety protection is insufficient due to potential electric shock risk from abnormal insulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the high-voltage terminal disconnection into two separate insulated terminals (first high-voltage terminal and second high-voltage terminal) on the base assembly, each corresponding to a separate terminal on the upper cover assembly. This segmentation ensures that both positive and negative electrodes are independently disconnected, eliminating the electric shock risk from abnormal insulation while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular terminal design.
2Reliability
If four high-voltage terminals and interlocking terminals are added to ensure simultaneous disconnection of both electrodes, then the safety protection is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the disconnection functions of multiple terminals into a single unified action. When the upper cover assembly is separated from the base assembly, all four high-voltage terminals (first and second on base, third and fourth on upper cover) are simultaneously disconnected due to the physical separation of the two assemblies. This merging approach ensures simultaneous disconnection of both electrodes while avoiding the need for complex individual control mechanisms for each terminal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates equipotential connections within each assembly by electrically connecting the two terminals on the base assembly (first and second high-voltage terminals) and the two terminals on the upper cover assembly (third and fourth high-voltage terminals) through respective conductors. This equipotential design ensures that when one assembly is disconnected, all connected terminals are simultaneously isolated, improving disconnection reliability while maintaining simple terminal configuration.
3Ease of operation
If the upper cover assembly is separated from the base assembly to disconnect high-voltage circuits, then the ease of operation for maintenance is improved, but the risk of electric shock from residual potential difference increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the high-voltage circuit connection function from the maintenance operation by providing dedicated high-voltage terminals that can be independently disconnected. The first and second high-voltage terminals on the base assembly are specifically designed to be disconnected from the third and fourth terminals on the upper cover assembly during maintenance, thereby extracting the electric shock hazard from the maintenance environment while preserving ease of operation through simple assembly separation.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack, a manual service disconnect thereof, and a battery protection method are provided. The manual service disconnect includes a base assembly and an upper cover assembly. The base assembly includes a base body, two first high-voltage terminals that are insulated and fixed on the base body, and two second high-voltage terminals that are insulated and fixed on the base body. The upper cover assembly includes an upper cover body and two third high-voltage terminals fixed on the upper cover body and corresponding to the two first high-voltage terminals, and two fourth high-voltage terminals fixed on the upper cover body and corresponding to the two second high-voltage terminals. The two third high-voltage terminals are electrically connected, and the two fourth high-voltage terminals are electrically connected.