Battery Pack Plate-Housing Melt Bonding Without Fastener Leaks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery pack assemblies rely on mechanical fasteners, which can create leakage paths for contaminants and compromise the integrity of the assembly, leading to potential damage and inefficiencies in protection and weight distribution.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack assembly that couples a plate with a housing using protrusions with a first melting point, where the housing or plate has a second melting point, eliminating the need for mechanical fasteners by melting the protrusions to create a single, integrated structure that protects the battery pack without holes or cavities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical fasteners are used to couple the plate with the housing, then the assembly is secure and stable, but leakage paths are created for contaminants and the assembly integrity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusion integrates the fastening function and sealing function into a single component. The protrusion couples the plate to the housing while its material composition provides sealing properties, eliminating the need for separate fasteners and gaskets that create leakage paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusion uses a material with a first melting point different from the housing or plate material's second melting point. This parameter difference allows the protrusion to be selectively melted and reformed to create sealed connections, transforming the assembly from a mechanical fastening system to a thermally bonded system that prevents contaminant ingress.
2Strength
If mechanical fasteners are used to secure the plate, then the structure is stable, but the weight of the assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the fastening function from separate mechanical fastener components and integrates it into the protrusion itself. The protrusion is formed as part of the plate or housing and uses thermal bonding rather than mechanical threads or clips, reducing the total material required while maintaining structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusion is made from a material composition that differs from the housing or plate, specifically designed with a different melting point. This composite approach allows the protrusion to serve multiple functions: structural coupling, sealing, and thermal bonding, all while reducing overall assembly weight compared to traditional fastener systems.
3Reliability
If protrusions with different melting points are used to couple the plate and housing, then leakage paths are eliminated and assembly integrity is enhanced, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes a controlled parameter change (melting point difference) to simplify the manufacturing process. By selecting materials with specific melting point relationships, the assembly process becomes a controlled thermal operation where the protrusion is selectively melted and reformed to create permanent, sealed connections, replacing complex mechanical fastening procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing process exploits the phase transition of the protrusion material from solid to liquid and back to solid. The protrusion is heated above its melting point to become pliable, allowing it to be formed or reformed into the desired coupling shape, then cooled to solidify and create a permanent, sealed bond between the plate and housing.
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 solution provides a lightweight, cost-effective, and robust protection for the battery pack by eliminating mechanical fasteners, reducing leakage paths, and enhancing the assembly's structural integrity while preventing external substances from entering.
Implementation Method 1
A portion of the protrusion can melt to couple the housing with the plate
Implementation Method 2
The protrusion can have a first melting point and at least one of the housing or the plate can have a second melting point. The first melting point can be lower than the second melting point
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus can include a plate to be disposed spaced apart from a housing. The plate configured to couple with the housing via a protrusion. A portion of the protrusion to melt to couple the plate with the housing.