Battery Support Assembly with Retaining Flanges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery designs face challenges in efficiently packaging cell arrays, effectively coupling cells for desired battery characteristics, providing sufficient cooling, and ensuring all cells have sensors for monitoring voltage and temperature.
Innovation Solution
A battery configuration using a support assembly with annular notches on cell pairs and retaining flanges on support strips to minimize plastic usage, allowing for a close-packed array of cells with efficient cooling and sensor placement, reducing assembly steps and packaging volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cells are housed in a plastic structure prior to assembly, then cell protection and organization are improved, but plastic usage, cost, weight, and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support strips perform multiple functions simultaneously: they support the cells, retain them through flanges engaging with notches, and provide structural organization. This merging of functions eliminates the need for separate plastic housing structures while achieving the same protective and organizational goals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential functions from a complete plastic housing structure and implements them through minimal support strips. Only the necessary support and retention functions are extracted and implemented, removing unnecessary plastic material while maintaining cell protection and organization.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a complete plastic housing structure is used, then cell support and retention are improved, but weight and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single complete plastic housing, the support structure is segmented into multiple thin support strips. Each strip provides localized support and retention functions, achieving overall structural stability with minimal material usage and reduced weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses thin support strips instead of bulky plastic housing. These thin film-like structures provide sufficient support and retention through their geometric design (flanges and notches) while minimizing material usage and weight.
3Reliability
If traditional battery assembly methods are used, then assembly completeness is ensured, but assembly steps and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support strips are pre-configured with flanges and notches in specific patterns before cell assembly. This preliminary arrangement of support elements ensures that cells can be directly placed and retained in the correct positions without requiring additional assembly steps, reducing assembly time while maintaining completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery includes a plurality of stacking supports including retaining flanges and support surfaces; and a plurality of generally cylindrical cells. Each cell is supported on a pair of the support surfaces. Each cell has an annular notch defined in a side wall with the annular notch mating with one retaining flange. The cells are arranged upon the stacking supports in a plurality of cell rows. The support surfaces are arranged on the stacking supports in such a manner so that the cells are arranged in a close-packed array and to maintain at least a predetermined distance between adjacent cells.