Vehicular Battery Pack E-Box Isolation for Assembly Safety

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Solution Overview

Problem

The assembly of vehicular battery packs poses a high risk of electrocution and injury due to the potential for short-circuiting and direct contact with high-voltage busbars during the assembly process.

Innovation Solution

The battery pack design groups high-voltage electrical components and safety devices within a container, with internal terminals and busbars connected only when the container is assembled, using a high-voltage fuse and specific openings to prevent sparks and arcs, and incorporates a BMC device monitoring system that optimizes volume and cooling efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If high-voltage busbars are exposed during assembly for direct connection, then electrical connectivity is achieved, but the risk of electrocution and short-circuiting increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassembly safetyVSAvoidassembly difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The battery pack assembly is divided into separate modules: the E-box containing high-voltage components is assembled and tested independently, then connected to the battery module later. This segmentation allows the high-voltage portion to be isolated during assembly, reducing electrocution risk while maintaining connectivity through standardized interfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Internal terminals serve as intermediaries between the E-box and battery module. These terminals are pre-positioned inside the E-box and only make contact with busbars when the complete assembly is finalized, providing a safe intermediary connection point that eliminates exposed high-voltage elements during intermediate assembly steps.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If high-voltage components are distributed throughout the battery pack, then electrical connections are simplified, but the risk of operator contact with live busbars increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperator protectionVSAvoidassembly structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

High-voltage components (E-box with busbars, internal terminals, and fuse) are extracted and isolated in a separate enclosed unit from the battery cells. This extraction concentrates all high-voltage elements into a controlled compartment, protecting operators from scattered live components while the overall pack structure remains manageable through standardized connection interfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If busbars are connected early in the assembly process, then electrical connectivity is established, but the risk of sparks and arcs during assembly increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveshort-circuit preventionVSAvoidassembly efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The E-box is pre-assembled with internal terminals and fuse in place before connection to the battery module. This preliminary preparation ensures that high-voltage components are already positioned and protected, eliminating the need for exposed busbar connections during final assembly and preventing sparks/arcs while maintaining assembly efficiency through pre-positioned components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The potential hazard of high-voltage exposure during assembly is converted into a safety feature by designing the E-box with internal terminals that remain isolated until final assembly. The enclosed structure that initially seems to complicate connections actually prevents harmful electrical discharge, and the fuse positioned within the E-box provides additional protection against short-circuits during the assembly process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

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 significantly reduces the risk of electrocution and injury during assembly by isolating high-voltage components and using a fuse to prevent direct contact, while maintaining efficient monitoring and cooling of the cells.

Implementation Method 1

one busbar is connected directly to a relative internal terminal, whereas the other is connected to the relative internal terminal via a high-voltage fuse that may be housed in the E-box after the latter has been fastened to the remaining container of the battery pack

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectJoule heating: Joule Heating

Implementation Method 2

first lateral walls, perpendicular to said layers and to said second lateral wall, have the purpose of cooling the layers of cells

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 3

first lateral walls, perpendicular to said layers and to said second lateral wall, have the purpose of cooling the layers of cells

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConvection: Convection

Data Source

PatentUS10957888B2Vehicular battery pack

Publication Date: 2021.03.23 FERRARI SPA

AI summary

A vehicular battery pack comprising a container, cells arranged in layers one above the other in the container, high-voltage electrical components, including safety and measurement devices, wherein said high-voltage electrical components are grouped in a wall of said container of the battery pack and are made so as to be powered only when said wall is connected to the remaining battery pack.