Integrated Bus Bar Cell Holder for Modular Battery Packs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs face challenges in efficiently connecting and securing multiple battery cells for high power applications, such as electric vehicles, where a modular configuration is required to enhance output voltage and current, but existing solutions lack effective methods for secure and efficient electrical connections and structural binding.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring bus bars with protrusions that integrate with a cell holder, allowing for secure electrical connections and structural binding of multiple battery cells, using a combination of primary and secondary insert injection molding to firmly fix the bus bars within the cell holder, ensuring stable and efficient electrical connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If multiple battery cells are connected in a modular configuration to increase output voltage and current, then the power output is improved, but the structural complexity and difficulty of secure electrical connections increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bus bar and cell holder are merged into a single integrated component through insert injection molding. The bus bar is first formed, then the cell holder material is injected around it to create a unified structure that provides both electrical connection and mechanical support, eliminating the need for separate components and reducing assembly complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The bus bar is pre-formed with protrusions that will later engage with recesses in the cell holder during injection molding. This preliminary formation of the bus bar with integrated fixing features allows the subsequent injection molding process to automatically secure the bus bar in the correct position, simplifying the overall manufacturing process
2Reliability
If bus bars are securely fixed to the cell holder to ensure stable electrical connections, then the reliability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing mechanism is merged into the injection molding process itself. The cell holder material is injected around the bus bar protrusions, creating an integral mechanical bond that secures the bus bar while simultaneously forming the cell holder structure, eliminating separate fixing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions and recesses act as intermediary features that mediate the connection between the bus bar and cell holder. These geometric features provide a mechanical interface that ensures proper positioning and secure attachment during the injection molding process
3Manufacturing precision
If fixing jigs are used to press the protrusions during injection molding, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the ease of manufacture decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bus bar is pre-positioned with protrusions that are designed to be pressed by the injection molding cavity during the molding process. This preliminary preparation of the bus bar with integrated fixing features allows the injection molding machine itself to provide the necessary pressing force, eliminating the need for separate fixing jigs
Solution Approach 2:
The injection molding process serves multiple functions simultaneously: it forms the cell holder structure, secures the bus bar through the protrusion-recess mechanism, and provides the necessary pressing force all in one operation. The process is self-sufficient, requiring no additional external fixing devices
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack includes a cell holder to which a plurality of battery cells are assembled and a bus bar assembly including a bus bar electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells to each other, and a protrusion protruding from the bus bar to at least a portion of a thickness of the cell holder. The plurality of battery cells are arranged on a first side of the cell holder, and the bus bar assembly is located on a second side of the cell holder opposite the first side of the cell holder. The cell holder integrated with the bus bars, which are firmly fixed at appropriate positions on the cell holder, may be provided through insert injection molding.