Battery Tray Structure With Recessed Corners for Lightweight Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery trays are often heavy due to the need for excessive rigidity to protect batteries from external forces, which compromises their lightweight and fuel-efficient design.
Innovation Solution
A tray design incorporating a high-strength portion with high tensile strength and a low-strength portion with lower tensile strength, where the low-strength portion includes recessed corners to distribute impact loads effectively, allowing for a combination of rigidity and lightweight construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the tray is made with uniform high-strength material throughout to ensure rigidity against external forces, then the rigidity is improved, but the weight becomes excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The tray employs local quality by differentiating material strength across different regions: high-strength material is used in the bottom wall and corner portions where rigidity is critical for impact resistance, while low-strength material is used in the side walls where full rigidity is less critical. This localized differentiation maintains necessary rigidity while reducing overall weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray uses composite materials by combining high-strength and low-strength materials in a single structure. The high-strength portion provides structural integrity at critical locations, while the low-strength portion reduces weight in non-critical areas, achieving an optimal balance between rigidity and weight.
2Reliability
If the tray uses high-strength material throughout to protect the battery, then the protective capability is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray applies local quality by providing high-strength material only where it is most needed for protection (bottom wall and corner portions that directly face impact forces), while using cost-effective low-strength material for the side walls. This targeted approach maintains protective capability while reducing overall manufacturing cost.
3Ease of manufacture
If the tray has a simple uniform structure to ease manufacturing, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the rigidity against crushing is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The tray uses local quality to enhance rigidity in specific critical regions (corner portions and bottom wall) through localized structural features such as corner reinforcements and pressed formations, while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that is still manufacturable using conventional pressing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray employs curvature by forming recessed portions and pressed features in the side walls and bottom wall that create curved structural elements. These curved features enhance rigidity and impact resistance while being formable through conventional pressing operations, maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
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 tray achieves enhanced rigidity to resist impact loads while maintaining a lightweight structure, improving fuel efficiency and manufacturing ease by using pressed steel sheets.
Implementation Method 1
welding a high-strength portion having a high tensile strength and a low-strength portion having a tensile strength lower than that of the high-strength portion
Implementation Method 2
pressing the low-strength portion so that the low-strength portion includes a recessed portion having a corner portion in a first side wall inner surface of a first side wall and a second side wall inner surface of a second side wall which are adjacent to each other at a minor angle
Data Source
AI summary
A tray (20) including a bottom wall (21) and a peripheral side wall (22) erected from an outer periphery of the bottom wall (21) includes a high-strength portion HT having a high tensile strength; and a low-strength portion LT having a tensile strength lower than that of the high-strength portion HT. The low-strength portion LT includes a recessed portion (C) having a corner portion (22C) in a first side wall inner surface (221a) and a second side wall inner surface (222a) which are adjacent to each other at a minor angle and a corner section (21C) on an upper surface (21a) of the bottom wall (21) having a minor angle to each of the first side wall inner surface (221a) and the second side wall inner surface (222a).