Battery Safety Vent Notch Structure for Controlled Breaking Pressure

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional secondary batteries face challenges in maintaining safety while ensuring the desired breaking pressure of the safety vent, as the main notch depth can be either insufficient for gas release or excessively deep, leading to premature breakage.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating a sub-notch adjacent to the main notch on the safety vent, with specific dimensions and orientations, to guide the breakage and maintain the desired pressure, reducing the risk of cracking and deformation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the main notch depth is increased to ensure gas release, then the safety vent breaks at the intended pressure, but the safety vent may break prematurely due to excessive depth

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety vent breaking pressureVSAvoidnotch depth control

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The safety vent is segmented into multiple notches (main notch and sub-notch) instead of using a single deep notch. The main notch has a first depth and the sub-notch has a second depth greater than the first depth, creating staged breakage points that guide the breaking process and prevent premature failure while ensuring gas release at the intended pressure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The sub-notch is prepared in advance with a greater depth than the main notch, but it is positioned such that it does not significantly reduce the breaking pressure of the main notch. This preliminary deeper notch acts as a guide for the breaking process, ensuring that when the main notch breaks, it does so in a controlled manner without premature deformation or cracking.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Strength

If the main notch depth is decreased to prevent premature breakage, then the safety vent maintains structural integrity, but the main notch may not break at the intended pressure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety vent structural integrityVSAvoidsafety vent breaking pressure

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The safety vent is segmented into multiple notches (main notch and sub-notch) instead of using a single deep notch. The main notch has a first depth and the sub-notch has a second depth greater than the first depth, creating staged breakage points that guide the breaking process and prevent premature failure while ensuring gas release at the intended pressure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The sub-notch acts as an intermediary element between the main notch and the rest of the safety vent structure. By having a greater depth than the main notch but being positioned to not significantly reduce the main notch's breaking pressure, it serves as a guide that ensures the main notch breaks at the intended pressure without premature deformation, thus mediating between structural integrity and reliable breaking.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If a single deep notch is used in the safety vent, then gas release is ensured, but unintended deformation and cracking may occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegas release functionalityVSAvoidunintended deformation and cracking

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The safety vent is segmented into multiple notches (main notch and sub-notch) instead of using a single deep notch. The main notch has a first depth and the sub-notch has a second depth greater than the first depth, creating staged breakage points that guide the breaking process and prevent premature failure while ensuring gas release at the intended pressure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The sub-notch is prepared in advance with a greater depth than the main notch, but it is positioned such that it does not significantly reduce the breaking pressure of the main notch. This preliminary deeper notch acts as a guide for the breaking process, ensuring that when the main notch breaks, it does so in a controlled manner without premature deformation or cracking.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20240178509A1Secondary battery

Publication Date: 2024.05.30 SAMSUNG SDI CO LTD

AI summary

A secondary battery includes an electrode assembly; a case that accommodates the electrode assembly; and a cap assembly that is coupled to an upper portion of the case, the cap assembly including a cap up, a safety vent below the cap up, and a cap down below the safety vent and electrically connected to the electrode assembly, wherein the safety vent includes a main notch and a sub-notch adjacent to the main notch, and the sub-notch has a depth that is smaller than a depth of the main notch.