Battery Cell Stack Guide Plate for Tight-Tolerance Frame Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing battery modules face challenges in efficiently inserting a battery cell stack into a frame member while minimizing assembly tolerance and costs, often leading to component damage and increased costs due to the use of guide films.
Innovation Solution
A guide plate is used to wrap the battery cell stack from the left and right sides, with a body part in contact and an insertion part bent inward, allowing the stack to be inserted into a U-shaped frame member with reduced clearance, and a compression pad is used to stabilize the stack during insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a guide film is used to minimize assembly tolerance, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a guide plate as an intermediary component between the battery cell stack and the frame member. The guide plate includes guide ribs that extend into the insertion space, providing physical guidance during assembly. This mediator structure enables precise positioning and alignment without requiring complex external guidance systems or films, thereby improving manufacturing precision while avoiding the complexity and cost issues associated with traditional guide films.
2Ease of operation
If clearance is increased to facilitate horizontal assembly, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from horizontal assembly to vertical insertion assembly. The guide plate with guide ribs is inserted vertically into the frame member, utilizing the vertical dimension for assembly. This dimensional change allows for easier operation through gravity-assisted insertion while the guide ribs maintain precise positioning, thereby improving ease of operation without sacrificing manufacturing precision.
3Ease of operation
If frame member height is increased to accommodate assembly tolerance, then ease of operation is improved, but weight and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate performs the preliminary action of guiding and positioning the battery cell stack before final insertion into the frame member. The guide ribs pre-align the components, ensuring that the insertion process can proceed with minimal clearance requirements. This preliminary guidance action eliminates the need for excessive frame member height to accommodate assembly tolerance, thereby reducing weight while maintaining ease of operation.
4Manufacturing precision
If guide film is used to reduce assembly tolerance, then manufacturing precision is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate is designed as a simple, inexpensive structural component that can be easily manufactured and replaced if necessary. Unlike expensive guide films that require specialized materials and application processes, the guide plate utilizes basic structural elements (guide ribs) that are integral to the assembly process. This approach achieves the required manufacturing precision while significantly reducing cost, making the system more reliable from an economic perspective.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus of manufacturing a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a guide plate that wraps a battery cell stack from left and right sides, with the battery cell stack being configured to stack a plurality of battery cells, wherein the guide plate comprises a body part in contact with the battery cell stack, and an insertion part connected to one end part of the body part and bent and protruded to the inner side of the battery cell stack; and the battery cell stack is inserted into the interior of the frame member whose upper part is opened by the insertion part.