Battery Cell Interconnection Without Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery manufacturing methods for large numbers of cells are tedious, costly, and do not allow for easy replacement or disassembly, as they require welding or adhesive tapes, which are not suitable for high electrical currents and are prone to contact loss and corrosion.
Innovation Solution
A battery design featuring cylindrical or prismatic cells seated in a separating and positioning case with flexible contact strips and individual elastic pressure devices, allowing for secure electrical connections without welding, enabling easy assembly, replacement, and reliable contact maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If welding or adhesive tapes are used to connect cells, then electrical connection is established, but the assembly becomes tedious, time-consuming, and costly, and replacement of defective cells is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is divided into modular cells that can be independently replaced. Each cell is connected through a standardized interface system comprising contact strips and pressure devices, allowing individual cell replacement without affecting the entire battery assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
Contact strips serve as intermediary elements between cell terminals, providing a reliable electrical connection without requiring direct welding or adhesive bonding. The pressure devices act as intermediaries to maintain consistent contact force, ensuring reliable connection while enabling easy assembly and disassembly.
2Device complexity
If flex strips are used to connect cells, then assembly is simplified, but the material is fragile and can be destroyed by friction of contact springs, resulting in loss of electrical contact
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses flexible contact strips made of resilient material that can deform elastically under pressure from the pressure devices. This flexibility allows the contact strips to accommodate manufacturing tolerances and maintain reliable electrical contact without being destroyed by spring friction, as the material naturally absorbs and distributes the mechanical stress.
3Reliability
If contact springs are used to press flex strips against terminals, then electrical contact is established, but the springs do not have sufficient travel and contact force to ensure reliable contact given manufacturing tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure devices are designed with sufficient travel capability to accommodate manufacturing tolerances of up to 2 mm. The resilient nature of the pressure devices allows them to dynamically adjust to variations in cell positioning and terminal alignment, maintaining consistent contact force throughout the operating range rather than relying on rigid spring mechanisms with limited travel.
4Quantity of substance
If a large surface flex strip is used to cover many cells, then all cells are interconnected, but the cost of the flex strip becomes very high
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large surface flex strip to connect all cells, the invention segments the connection system into multiple smaller contact strips, each serving a specific group of cells. This segmentation reduces the total material cost while maintaining full interconnection capability across all battery cells through the distributed network of contact strips.
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 simplifies and speeds up assembly, enhances reliability, allows for easy replacement of defective cells, and ensures reliable high-current connections, reducing electric losses and corrosion, while being cost-effective and suitable for large-scale applications.
Implementation Method 1
individual elastic pressure devices spread over the interior face of the contact and holding panels which are screwed into the separating and positioning case so that said contact tabs are pressed individually against one of the terminals or poles of said cells
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a battery including a plurality of juxtaposed cylindrical or prismatic cells located in the through holes of a separating and positioning crate, characterized in that the separating and positioning crate is provided between two contact and holding plates having inner surfaces provided with one or more contact strips attached without welding against said faces and ensuring the electric interconnection between a plurality of cells. Said contact strip or each of said contact strips is made of a flexible conducting material having a plurality of flexible contact tabs cut in said contact strip(s) and maintained against the terminals of the cells by individual elastic pressure means secured by screwing onto the separating and positioning crate so that said contact tabs are individually pressed against one of the terminals or poles of said cells.