Vehicle Battery Pack Structure Without Internal Struts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power storage systems for vehicles are heavy and bulky due to the inclusion of struts and crosspieces, which increases weight and complexity, making them costly and difficult to manufacture while providing limited mechanical resistance.
Innovation Solution
A power storage system with a flat, thin design that integrates modules of electrochemical cells within a container, eliminating the need for struts and crosspieces by using interlocking connection bodies and locking elements to secure the modules, reducing weight and production complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If struts and crosspieces are arranged inside the container to create an alveolar structure, then mechanical performance and structural integrity are improved, but weight and bulk increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the struts and crosspieces from the container structure, extracting the harmful heavy elements while preserving the essential function of supporting battery modules through alternative means (the lower wall itself serves as the support structure).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a thin-walled container design where the lower wall is sufficiently strong to directly support battery modules without additional internal struts, utilizing the shell structure itself rather than adding internal reinforcement elements.
2Strength
If struts and crosspieces are arranged inside the container to create an alveolar structure, then mechanical performance is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the complex network of struts and crosspieces, removing the alveolar structure entirely and replacing it with a simpler configuration where battery modules rest directly on the lower wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the support function with the lower wall itself, eliminating the need for separate support elements. The lower wall serves dual purposes as both the base structure and the support for battery modules.
3Volume of moving object
If the power storage system is designed with a flat and thin shape to be integrated inside the floor, then space utilization is improved, but mechanical resistance and structural strength are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the container with thin walls that maintain sufficient structural strength despite the reduced thickness, allowing the power storage system to be integrated into the vehicle floor with optimized space utilization while preserving necessary mechanical properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the thickness and material properties of the lower wall to achieve the right balance between being thin enough for floor integration and strong enough to support battery modules directly without additional reinforcement.
Data Source
AI summary
A power storage system for a vehicle provided with at least one electric motor. The power storage system has: a container provided with a lower wall; and a plurality of modules, which are housed inside the container and directly rest on the lower wall. Each module has a group of electrochemical cells and two containing walls which are perpendicular to the lower wall of the container and are arranged parallel to one another on opposite sides of the pack of electrochemical cells so as to clamp the pack of electrochemical cells between them. Each containing wall has at least one tubular connection body and a plurality of locking elements are provided, which are fixed to the lower wall, project perpendicularly from the lower wall, and engage the connection bodies.