Busbar Insulating Cap Enforces Assembly Sequence

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Solution Overview

Problem

High-voltage accumulator arrangements pose safety risks during assembly, maintenance, and repair, requiring special precautions to prevent accidental contact with dangerous voltages.

Innovation Solution

A battery arrangement with busbar elements featuring an insulating cap that forces a specific assembly sequence, ensuring that live parts of two or more connected accumulators cannot be touched simultaneously, and a method for producing such arrangements that includes attaching busbar elements in a sequence that prevents accidental contact.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional busbar elements are used for connecting accumulators in series, then the electrical connection is achieved, but safety risks arise during assembly and maintenance due to high voltage exposure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety against high-voltage accidentsVSAvoidassembly sequence complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The insulating cap is pre-integrated onto the busbar element, with a protruding portion designed to cover the connector receiving area of adjacent busbar elements. This preliminary design forces a specific assembly sequence where busbar elements must be installed one at a time, preventing simultaneous exposure of live parts from multiple accumulators and eliminating the need for isolating switches.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If isolating switches are used to protect against high voltage, then safety is improved, but device complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety protectionVSAvoidadditional components
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The safety function previously requiring separate isolating switches is extracted and integrated directly into the busbar element design. The protruding insulating cap portion inherently prevents simultaneous contact with live parts from multiple accumulators, eliminating the need for additional isolating switch components while maintaining safety protection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If busbar elements are designed to cover adjacent elements, then safety against unintentional short circuits is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotection against short circuitsVSAvoidbusbar element fabrication
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The insulating cap and busbar conductor are merged into a single integrated component. The protruding portion of the insulating cap is formed as part of the busbar element assembly, combining the electrical connection function with the safety coverage function in one manufacturable unit, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity despite the enhanced safety features.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2858850B1Accumulator arrangement, busbar element therefor and method for producing an accumulator arrangement
Publication Date: 2019.04.17 CLARIOS ADVANCED POWER SOLUTIONS GMBH
  • EP2858850B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2858850B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2858850B1 patent drawingFigure 3a~3f

AI summary

The invention relates to an accumulator arrangement which has a plurality of series-connected individual accumulators, each individual accumulator having at least one plus pole and a minus pole as externally accessible connection poles, busbar elements being secured on the connection poles in order to form the series connection, which each connect a minus pole of an individual accumulator to a plus pole of another individual accumulator, characterised in that a specific assembly sequence of said busbar elements is determined by the structural design of the busbar elements. The invention further relates to a busbar element and a to method for producing an accumulator arrangement.