Battery Pack Dissolvable Connectors for Water Ingress Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery packs mounted on vehicles are vulnerable to water or undesirable substances entering the housing, which can lead to electrical safety hazards due to the lack of effective sealing and potential electrical conductivity, causing electric shocks.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design where battery modules are grouped with a potential difference of 60 V or less between terminals, using dissolvable connecting members, with copper for faster dissolution in case of water ingress to disconnect electrical paths and prevent shocks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hermetic sealing with packing is used to prevent water entry, then sealing performance is improved, but vibration and external impact may cause packing to loosen and sealing effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-classifying battery modules into groups with limited potential difference (60V or less) and pre-arranging dissolvable connecting members in specific positions (first connecting members between groups, second within groups) before water ingress occurs. This preliminary configuration ensures that when water enters, the safety mechanism activates automatically without requiring real-time decision-making or additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of water ingress into a beneficial safety mechanism. Instead of merely trying to prevent water entry through sealing, the invention accepts that water may enter and uses the water itself to dissolve the connecting members, thereby automatically disconnecting electrical paths and preventing electric shock. The water that would normally cause harm becomes the trigger for the safety response.
2Power
If battery modules are connected in series to increase voltage output, then power output is improved, but the risk of electric shock increases when water penetrates the housing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the series-connected battery modules into multiple groups, where each group contains modules with a limited potential difference of 60V or less. First connecting members connect these groups in series to achieve the desired total voltage output, while second connecting members connect modules within each group. This segmentation ensures that even if water penetrates the housing, the electric shock risk is limited to 60V or less within any single group, preventing fatal electric shocks while still achieving high voltage output through the series connection of multiple groups.
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 ensures safety by preventing electric shocks when water enters the battery pack by preferentially disconnecting electrical paths, maintaining a safe voltage and reducing the risk of electrical accidents.
Implementation Method 1
the connecting members are made of materials which are dissolvable in the water that has penetrated into the housing, and the material forming the first connecting member has a higher dissolution rate than the material forming the second connecting member
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a battery pack which includes a plurality of battery modules housed in a housing. The battery modules are connected in series to each other via connecting members that connects external terminals of the battery modules to each other. The battery modules are classified into groups, each being comprised of at least two of the battery modules, two terminal ones of which have a potential difference of at most V or less between themselves. A first connecting member connects the external terminals of the battery modules to each other between two adjacent ones of the groups. A second connecting member connects the external terminals of the battery modules to each other within an identical one of the groups. If water penetrates into the housing, the first connecting member is electrically cut off, preferentially relative to the second connecting member.