Battery Support Elements Divert Crash Deformation Forces
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-voltage batteries, such as those used in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, face challenges in withstanding deformation forces during crashes, which can damage the circuit board and lead to electrical hazards due to the stress on the housing, causing potential overheating, arcing, and risk of the housing becoming live.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating support elements within the battery housing to distribute and divert deformation forces away from the circuit board, either through the plate or circuit board, ensuring that load forces are guided past or through the circuit board, thereby protecting it from damage and maintaining electrical insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If insulation plates are used to protect the circuit board from direct contact with the housing, then electrical insulation is provided, but the circuit board is still subjected to deformation forces from housing deformation during crashes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces support elements as intermediary components between the housing and the circuit board. These support elements absorb and distribute deformation forces from the housing, preventing them from being transmitted to the circuit board. The support elements act as a mediator that protects the circuit board from both direct contact and indirect deformation forces, thereby resolving the contradiction between providing electrical insulation and resisting deformation forces.
2Ease of manufacture
If the housing is deformed during a crash, then deformation forces are transmitted to the circuit board, but this can damage or destroy the circuit board leading to electrical hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The support elements are pre-installed in the housing to provide beforehand cushioning for the circuit board. When deformation forces occur during a crash, these support elements are already in place to absorb and distribute the forces, preventing them from reaching the circuit board. This prior cushioning mechanism ensures that the circuit board remains protected even when the housing undergoes deformation, resolving the contradiction between housing deformation tolerance and circuit board integrity.
3Use of energy by moving object
If high-voltage batteries are used in vehicles, then energy density and power are improved, but the risk of arcing and overheating increases during crash deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The support elements serve as intermediary protective structures that prevent direct contact between deformed housing components and electrical connections. By maintaining spatial separation and providing force distribution, the support elements reduce the risk of arcing and overheating that could occur during crash deformation. This allows high-voltage batteries to maintain their energy density and power benefits while mitigating the associated safety risks during accidental deformation.
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
The support elements effectively distribute deformation forces, ensuring electrical safety and protecting cell pole connections and circuit boards from damage, reducing the risk of electrical voltage on the housing and maintaining mechanical stability, thus preventing force peaks and deformation of cell terminals.
Implementation Method 1
the heat generated during charging and discharging in the cells of lithium-ion batteries must be dissipated by cooling. Due to the maximum permissible cell temperature of approx. 50 °C, cooling is carried out via the vehicle's air conditioning circuit.
Implementation Method 2
the casting compound provides electrical insulation and fixes the cells in the cell assembly
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a battery (1), in particular, a vehicle battery, comprising a housing (2), a cell assembly (6), arranged in the housing (2) made up of battery cells (2) and a plate (11), arranged in the electrical connector region (10) of the cells (5) for electrical connection of the cells (5). According to the invention, the deformation safety, for example in the case of a crash can be improved, wherein the battery (1) comprises support elements (14) arranged inside the housing (2), by means of which, in the case of a deformation of the housing (2) through a deformation force (12) acting on the housing which leads to a deformation of the housing (2) in the direction of the plate (11), the loading forces acting on the plate (11) by means of the housing due to the deformation of the housing are supported to protect the plate (11).