Battery Terminal Collector Structure for Visible Weld Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing secondary batteries face challenges in ensuring proper contact and alignment during welding between the terminal and current collector plate, leading to potential welding defects and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a protrusion on the current collector plate that passes through a central area of the terminal, with a terminal groove and through-hole to facilitate alignment and ensure close contact, allowing for visual verification of proper welding, and a welding bead to secure the connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If welding is performed between terminal and current collector plate without visual verification, then welding process is simple, but welding quality cannot be confirmed leading to defects
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusion is nested within the terminal structure, passing through the terminal body to provide external visibility while maintaining internal welding function. This nested design allows the verification feature to be integrated within the terminal rather than added as a separate component.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusion acts as an intermediary element between the welding interface and the external observer. It transmits visual information about the welding contact status from the internal welding area to the external environment, enabling quality verification without direct observation of the welding zone.
2Manufacturing precision
If protrusion passes through terminal for visual check, then welding alignment can be verified, but terminal manufacturing becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusion is pre-formed as part of the terminal structure before the welding operation. This preliminary inclusion of the verification feature allows alignment checking to be performed during or after welding without requiring additional manufacturing steps or assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusion combines multiple functions within a single structural element: it serves as both a mechanical component of the terminal and a visual verification indicator. This merging eliminates the need for separate alignment markers or verification devices.
3Ease of operation
If terminal groove and through-hole are added for alignment, then welding contact is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal groove and through-hole create additional dimensional features (depth and penetration) in the terminal structure. These dimensional additions provide geometric constraints that guide alignment and ensure proper contact without requiring complex external fixtures or positioning mechanisms.
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
This design enhances the reliability of the welding process by providing a visual check for proper contact and alignment, reducing welding defects and ensuring a secure electrical connection.
Implementation Method 1
a protrusion welded to the terminal, wherein the protrusion passes through the terminal at a central area thereof so as to be exposed to outside of the secondary battery
Implementation Method 2
welding is performed between a terminal and a current collector plate
Data Source
AI summary
A secondary battery is configured such that is can checking whether a terminal and a current collector plate are in close contact with each other when the terminal and the current collector plate are welded to thereby improve weldability between the terminal and the current collector plate and reduce welding defects. The secondary battery includes an electrode assembly provided with an electrode tab, a current collector electrically coupled to the electrode tab, a case accommodating the electrode assembly and the current collector, a cap plate sealing the case, and a terminal mechanically and electrically coupled to the current collector and disposed on the cap plate. The current collector includes an electrode current collector plate welded to the electrode tab, and a terminal current collector plate extending from the electrode current collector plate towards the terminal and including a protrusion welded to the terminal. The protrusion passes through the terminal at a central area of thereof so as to be exposed to outside of the secondary battery.