Battery Current Collector Apertures for Potting Flow and Insulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules face challenges in efficiently filling the interstitial spaces between battery cells with potting material, leading to poor thermal and electrical insulation properties, and the current collector designs hinder the flow of potting material, affecting the overall performance of the battery module.
Innovation Solution
The current collector includes apertures in the isolation layer to facilitate the flow of potting material into interstitial spaces, and a coverlay layer with notches to allow mechanical yielding of fuses, coupled with a voltage sensing device that minimizes direct current internal resistance and reduces trace redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the current collector uses a solid isolation layer without apertures, then electrical insulation is maintained, but potting material cannot flow into interstitial spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation layer is segmented by introducing apertures that divide it into regions while maintaining overall continuity. This segmentation allows potting material to pass through to fill interstitial spaces while the remaining solid portions maintain electrical insulation functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The isolation layer exhibits local quality variation: areas with apertures allow potting material flow, while areas with solid material provide electrical insulation. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by having different regions serve different functions within the same layer.
2Ease of manufacture
If the tab has small weldable area, then manufacturing is simpler, but electrical connection reliability is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The tab geometry is pre-designed with extended dimensions and optimized shapes before the welding process. This preliminary geometric configuration ensures sufficient weldable area is available, allowing reliable electrical connections to be achieved during assembly without requiring complex manufacturing processes.
3Strength
If the fuse is rigid and fully covered by coverlay layer, then structural integrity is maintained, but mechanical yielding capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The coverlay layer is designed as a flexible thin film with a strategic notch that allows controlled deformation. This flexible structure maintains overall structural integrity while enabling the fuse to yield mechanically under stress, accommodating thermal expansion and contraction without rigid failure.
4Measurement precision
If voltage sensing regions are closely spaced, then measurement precision is improved, but DCIR spread increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacing between voltage sensing regions is optimized to a specific parameter range that balances measurement precision with DCIR consistency. This parameter optimization ensures that regions are close enough for precise measurement but spaced sufficiently to minimize current distribution variations and DCIR spread.
Data Source
AI summary
A current collector can include an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layer can be configured to electrically couple to a first battery cell and a second battery cell with an interstitial area between the first battery cell and the second battery cell. The current collector can include an isolation layer. The isolation layer can define an aperture. The aperture can form a path through the isolation layer to the interstitial area.