Battery Cooling Fin Feet Alignment for Thermal Contact

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current battery thermal systems experience reduced thermal performance due to the flexing tendency of interlocking structural components, leading to loss of thermal contact and alignment issues, which complicates manufacturability and increases costs.

Innovation Solution

A modular stacking frame structure with compliant cooling fin assemblies and a frame structure that ensures flat surfaces for optimal thermal engagement with a heat sink, preventing deformation and ensuring alignment, thus enhancing thermal contact and manufacturability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If interlocking structural components are used to allow deformation and cell tolerance management, then adaptability to cell variation is improved, but thermal contact stability deteriorates due to flexing tendency

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecell tolerance managementVSAvoidthermal contact stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system is divided into discrete feet components with interlocking profiles that can independently accommodate cell variations while maintaining overall structural stability. Each foot acts as a separate segment that manages local tolerance issues without affecting the entire thermal contact surface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The feet are pre-formed with specific interlocking profiles and flat surfaces during manufacturing. This preliminary preparation ensures that when assembled, the feet automatically align and maintain stable thermal contact without requiring post-assembly adjustment or deformation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If flexible joints are used to allow deformation of stacked solid fin assemblies, then adaptability to assembly variation is improved, but thermal performance deteriorates due to loss of thermal contact

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassembly variation toleranceVSAvoidthermal contact alignment

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The design incorporates flat surfaces on the feet that serve as pre-prepared cushioning elements. These surfaces compensate for assembly variations by providing a stable, deformation-free interface between the stacked fin assemblies and the heat sink, ensuring consistent thermal contact despite manufacturing tolerances.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

3Adaptability or versatility

If banana or snake shape deformation is allowed in stacked solid fin assemblies, then cell expansion management is improved, but manufacturability deteriorates due to alignment complexity

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecell expansion managementVSAvoidassembly alignment

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The assembly is segmented into discrete feet with standardized interlocking profiles. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently with standard tolerances, simplifying manufacturing while enabling the overall structure to accommodate cell expansion through the modular arrangement of segments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Ease of operation

If interlocking profiles are used to form a surface for heat sink attachment, then ease of assembly is improved, but structural rigidity deteriorates due to flexing tendency

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveheat sink attachmentVSAvoidstructural rigidity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The feet are designed with differentiated local qualities: the interlocking profiles provide flexibility and ease of assembly, while the flat surfaces provide rigidity and stability for thermal contact. This local differentiation allows each part of the component to fulfill its specific function optimally without compromising overall structural integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

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

The solution simplifies manufacturability, reduces costs, and maintains thermal performance by ensuring parallelism and optimal thermal contact between cooling fin assemblies and the heat sink, without deformation, thereby improving the robustness and efficiency of the battery thermal system.

Implementation Method 1

The solid fin assemblies 70 conduct heat generated in the battery cells 35 to the heat sinks 60

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Data Source

PatentUS9647302B2Battery thermal system with a stacking frame

Publication Date: 2017.05.09 GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC

AI summary

A battery pack assembly. Each assembly includes a battery cell and a cooling fin assembly positioned in thermal communication with the battery cell for thermal cooling thereof. The cooling fin assembly includes a generally planar cooling fin defining a compliant structure and at least one foot defining a flat surface along an edge of the cooling fin. A heat sink and a frame structure contain the battery cells and the cooling fin assemblies such that upon placement of the cooling fin assemblies and the battery cells in the frame structure, a substantial entirety of the flat surfaces of the feet of the cooling fin assemblies are aligned to define a generally planar surface with which to thermally engage the heat sink. A vehicle propulsion system having a battery pack assembly and methods of assembling a battery pack assembly is also described.