Battery Pack Layout Using Mixed Cell Shapes for Higher Energy Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs in electric vehicles face challenges in optimizing energy density, output power, energy efficiency, and safety due to the use of batteries of a single type with the same shape and chemical characteristics, leading to wasted space and reduced capacity.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design that incorporates a base frame with a region accommodating batteries of varying shapes and sizes, including special and normal type batteries with different cross-sectional footprints, allowing for optimized arrangement and expansion of the region to increase energy density and capacity, while improving structural stability and reducing manufacturing and maintenance costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a battery pack accommodates only a single type of battery with the same shape and chemical characteristics, then the structure is simplified and manufacturing is easier, but the energy density decreases due to wasted space and the capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is segmented into multiple types of batteries (first type and second type) with different shapes and chemical characteristics. The first type has a first shape and the second type has a second shape different from the first, allowing them to be arranged in complementary spaces within the battery pack, thereby reducing wasted space and increasing energy density while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the battery pack are assigned different battery types based on local spatial characteristics. The first type of battery is accommodated in regions suitable for its shape, while the second type is placed in remaining spaces, optimizing the local arrangement to maximize overall energy density without compromising manufacturing simplicity
2Ease of manufacture
If a battery pack uses only a single type of battery, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the output power, energy efficiency, and safety are not optimized according to traveling environments or conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple types of batteries with different chemical characteristics, where the first type and second type have distinct properties that can be optimized for different traveling environments or conditions, enabling performance adaptation while maintaining cost-effectiveness through modular architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The battery pack system enables dynamic performance optimization by selecting and arranging different battery types (first type and second type with different chemical characteristics) according to traveling environments or conditions, allowing the system to adapt its energy delivery characteristics in response to varying operational requirements
3Ease of manufacture
If the battery pack size is reduced to correspond to the size of a single type of battery, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the capacity of the battery pack decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack accommodates multiple types of batteries (first type and second type) with different shapes, allowing them to fit together like puzzle pieces in the available space. This segmentation approach maximizes the utilization of the battery pack volume, increasing capacity without requiring an increase in the overall battery pack size, thereby maintaining cost-effectiveness
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes a base frame which has a plate shape and a certain region on an upper surface, and a plurality of batteries having shapes of cross-sectional footprints defined by an outermost profile of a cross section placed parallel to the upper surface of the base frame. The plurality of batteries may be disposed inside the certain region on the upper surface of the base frame. The plurality of batteries may include a plurality of types of batteries having the cross-sectional footprints which have different shapes. At least a portion of a perimeter of the certain region R may obliquely extend. At least a portion of a perimeter of the cross-sectional footprint of a special type battery, which is at least one type among the plurality of types of batteries, may obliquely extend along a first portion of the perimeter of the certain region.