Battery Cell Stack Assembly With Cooling Plate and Alignment Stopper
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery cell stack assemblies face challenges in aligning battery cells effectively while ensuring reliable cooling and facilitating easy connection of busbars and auxiliary electronic equipment during manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A battery cell stack assembly design featuring thicker cooling plates than alignment elements, with the alignment elements acting as stoppers, ensures precise alignment of battery cell rows and supports the cooling plates, allowing for efficient cooling and easy connection of electrical terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cooling plates are made thicker to ensure reliable cooling, then cooling reliability is improved, but alignment precision of battery cell rows deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling plate is segmented into two distinct components: a thick cooling plate portion that ensures reliable cooling, and a thinner alignment element portion that provides precise alignment. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the cooling plate have different thicknesses tailored to their specific functions. The cooling plate portion has greater thickness for thermal management, while the alignment element portion has reduced thickness for precision alignment, creating local quality variations that resolve the contradiction.
2Manufacturing precision
If alignment elements are made thinner to improve alignment precision, then alignment precision is improved, but structural strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment element is merged with the cooling plate to form an integrated structure. This combination allows the alignment element to be thinner for precision while the integrated cooling plate provides the necessary structural strength and thermal management functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated structure combines the alignment element and cooling plate into a composite assembly where each material can be optimized for its primary function - the alignment element for precision and the cooling plate for strength and thermal management.
3Quantity of substance
If battery cell rows are tightly packed to improve energy density, then packaging efficiency is improved, but accessibility for connection of busbars and electronic equipment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment element serves as an intermediary component that maintains precise positioning and accessibility of battery cell terminals while allowing tight packaging. It acts as a mediator between the tightly packed cells and the connection equipment, ensuring both high density and ease of manufacturing.
Data Source
Figure 1~2a
Figure 2b~2d
Figure 3~4a
AI summary
A battery cell stack assembly (1) for a battery module or a battery pack, the battery cell stack assembly having a longitudinal extension along a longitudinal direction, a width extension along a width direction (W) and a height extension along a height direction (H), the battery cell stack assembly comprising: - a plurality of prismatic battery cells (2), stacked next to each other in at least three longitudinally extending and parallel battery cell rows (R1, R2, R3), - a bottom support plate (3), wherein the at least three battery cell rows (R1, R2, R3) are supported on a support surface of the bottom support plate which faces upwardly in the height direction (H), - a first cooling plate (4), provided in a first longitudinally extending space (S1) in-between two adjacent battery cell rows (R1, R2) of the at least three battery cell rows (R1, R2, R3), and extending in the longitudinal direction and the height direction (H) such that it forms an intermediate wall between the two adjacent battery cell rows (R1, R2), - a first alignment element (32), provided in the first longitudinally extending space (S1) and below the first cooling plate, as seen in the height direction (H), wherein the first alignment element has an extension in the longitudinal direction corresponding to at least a portion of an extension of the first longitudinally extending space (S1) and is configured to align the two adjacent battery cell rows (R1, R2) with respect to the longitudinal direction (L), and - wherein a maximum width (W1) of the first cooling plate in the width direction (W) is larger than a maximum width (W2) of the first alignment element in the width direction (W).