Battery Pack Encapsulation with Raised Injection Ports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery packs face challenges in efficiently encapsulating multiple cells while withstanding thermal and mechanical stresses, requiring a lightweight and structurally sound design suitable for vehicle applications, and accommodating efficient manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring complementary housing members with raised encapsulant injection ports and chamfered cell mounting wells, allowing for secure cell retention and encapsulation material flow, ensuring open ports for encapsulant injection and improved bonding, and enabling both manual and automated manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If conventional encapsulation methods are used for battery packs, then the housing can contain multiple cells, but the encapsulation process becomes complex and difficult to automate
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two complementary members (first and second housing members) that can be separately manufactured and then assembled. Each housing member has its own cell constraints and injection ports, allowing independent preparation and simplifying the overall encapsulation process for automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cell constraints are pre-formed as integral parts of the housing members during housing manufacturing, rather than being added during assembly. The injection ports are also pre-positioned in the housing members, enabling preliminary preparation that facilitates automated encapsulation later.
2Weight of moving object
If the housing is designed to be lightweight for vehicle applications, then weight is reduced, but structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The housing members are designed to work in combination with encapsulation material that bonds to the cell constraints. This composite structure (housing + encapsulant + cells) provides enhanced structural strength while allowing the housing itself to remain lightweight, as the load-bearing capacity is distributed across the entire assembly rather than requiring the housing alone to be extremely strong.
Solution Approach 2:
The cells are nested within the housing members and secured by encapsulation material that fills the space between the cells and housing interior surfaces. This nested arrangement creates a structurally integrated assembly where the housing provides the outer framework, the cells provide internal structure, and the encapsulant bonds them together, achieving strength through multi-layer integration rather than thick housing walls.
3Quantity of substance
If multiple cells are housed in a single battery pack, then capacity increases, but the encapsulation process becomes more time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into two complementary members that can be prepared independently and then assembled around the cells. This segmentation allows parallel processing where multiple housing members can be prepared simultaneously, and the cell array can be assembled separately, then combined in a single encapsulation step, improving manufacturing efficiency for multi-cell packs.
Solution Approach 2:
The first and second housing members are designed with complementary cell constraints that work together to secure multiple cells in various configurations. The universal design of the constraints and injection ports allows the same housing member design to accommodate different numbers and types of cells, enabling efficient manufacturing across multiple product variants without requiring separate tooling for each configuration.
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 provides a lightweight, structurally sound battery pack capable of housing numerous cells, ensuring efficient encapsulation and manufacturing, while maintaining flexibility for various cell types and configurations, thus addressing the need for advanced vehicle battery solutions.
Implementation Method 1
The raised encapsulant injection ports are designed to extend above the surface of the encapsulation material, thus ensuring that the ports remain open after injection of the encapsulation material.
Implementation Method 2
a first layer of encapsulation material surrounding the perimeter of the first end of each battery cell and a second layer of encapsulation material surrounding the perimeter of the second end of each battery cell
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for simplifying battery pack encapsulation is provided. The battery pack includes a pair of complementary housing members with each housing member including a plurality of cell constraints into which the ends of corresponding battery cells are inserted during assembly. One or both housing members also include at least one, and preferably a plurality, of raised encapsulant injection ports. The raised encapsulant injection ports are designed to extend above the surface of the respective housing members and beyond the injected encapsulation material, thus ensuring that the ports remain open after encapsulation material injection.