Secondary Battery Pack Insulative Mounting Member Assembly

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing secondary battery packs face challenges in maintaining mechanical strength and simplifying the assembly process while ensuring electrical insulation and rapid temperature sensing for safety elements, particularly in lithium secondary batteries, which are prone to overheating and explosion due to overcharge or external impacts.

Innovation Solution

A secondary battery pack design featuring a protection circuit module (PCM) inserted into an insulative mounting member in a lateral direction, with an electrically insulative top cap and fastening grooves, allowing for stable electrical insulation and improved mechanical strength through a simplified assembly process, enabling rapid temperature sensing by safety elements like PTC elements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If insulation tape is bonded to the PCM to maintain electrical insulation, then electrical insulation is achieved, but temperature sensing speed decreases and mechanical strength against external impact is low

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveelectrical insulationVSAvoidtemperature sensing speed
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the insulation tape from the PCM and instead extracts the insulation function to a dedicated insulative mounting member. This mounting member is specifically designed to provide electrical insulation while allowing thermal contact between the PCM and battery cell, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining insulation and enabling rapid temperature sensing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The insulative mounting member acts as an intermediary component between the PCM and the battery cell. It provides electrical insulation while maintaining thermal coupling, serving as a mediator that resolves the conflict between electrical isolation and thermal sensing requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If multiple insulative mounting members or parts are used to solve insulation and strength problems, then electrical insulation and mechanical strength are improved, but the battery pack assembly process becomes complicated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemechanical strengthVSAvoidassembly process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple functions (electrical insulation, mechanical support, and thermal coupling) into a single integrated insulative mounting member. This consolidation eliminates the need for multiple separate insulation components, thereby simplifying the assembly process while maintaining the required mechanical strength and insulation properties.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The insulative mounting member is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously provides electrical insulation, mechanical support for the PCM, and thermal coupling to the battery cell. This universal component approach reduces the total number of parts and simplifies the assembly process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Manufacturing precision

If welding or soldering processes are carried out with high precision to connect PCM to battery cell, then electrical connection is achieved, but the defect rate is high due to the small structure of the secondary battery

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewelding precisionVSAvoiddefect rate
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the welding/soldering mechanical connection system with a mechanical insertion system. The PCM is inserted into the insulative mounting member and secured through mechanical means rather than thermal processes, eliminating the precision welding requirements and associated high defect rates in small battery structures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentEP2624336B1Secondary battery pack having a novel structure
Publication Date: 2014.05.14 LG CHEM LTD
  • EP2624336B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2624336B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP2624336B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

Disclosed herein is a secondary battery pack including a battery cell having an electrode assembly of a cathode/separator/anode structure disposed in a battery case together with an electrolyte in a sealed state, the battery case being provided at an upper end thereof with a first electrode terminal, a second electrode terminal, and a pair of fastening grooves, a protection circuit module (PCM) including a protection circuit board (PCB) having a protection circuit formed thereon, connection members A and B connected to the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal, respectively, and a safety element, an insulative mounting member configured to have a structure in which the PCM is inserted into the insulative mounting member in a lateral direction while an upper end and a lower end of the PCM are surrounded by the insulative mounting member, and an electrically insulative top cap mounted to an upper end of the battery cell while the top cap surrounds the insulative mounting member, the top cap being provided with through holes communicating with the fastening grooves, wherein fastening members are coupled into the fastening grooves of the battery cell through the through holes of the top cap in a state in which the insulative mounting member, in which the PCM is fitted, and the top cap are loaded on the upper end of the battery cell.