Electric Vehicle Battery Case Orientation for Design Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing electric vehicle battery case design, with the battery cell stacked vertically and covered by an upper case with electric equipment on top, limits vehicle design flexibility due to its portrait shape, restricting its applicability to various vehicle types.
Innovation Solution
The electric saddled vehicle features a battery case with a main housing unit and a sub-housing unit positioned adjacent to each other, where the sub-housing unit is narrower in width, creating a recess for a connector that projects outward, allowing the battery to be oriented in a forward and backward direction, enhancing design flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the battery cell is stacked vertically with electric equipment on top, then the battery case has a compact structure, but the battery case has limited applicability to different vehicle types
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the orientation of the battery case from vertical stacking to horizontal arrangement. The first housing unit containing the battery cell and the second housing unit containing the connector are arranged side-by-side in the width direction of the vehicle, transforming the structure from portrait to landscape orientation. This dimensional change allows the battery case to be adapted to different vehicle types while maintaining compactness.
2Device complexity
If the battery case is in portrait shape, then the structure is compact, but the connector protrudes significantly limiting design flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reorients the battery case from vertical to horizontal arrangement, placing the connector in the second housing unit that is positioned in the width direction rather than the vertical direction. This reduces the protrusion in the vertical dimension and allows for more flexible vehicle design.
Solution Approach 2:
The second housing unit containing the connector has a smaller width than the first housing unit, creating an asymmetric configuration. The connector protrudes only from a portion of the battery case rather than the entire width, reducing the overall protrusion and improving design flexibility.
Data Source
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AI summary
An electric-vehicle battery (30) includes: a battery cell (42); an input/output component (46) to/from the battery cell (42); a battery case (40) including a main housing unit (54) in which the battery cell (42) is housed, the battery case (40) including a sub-housing unit (56) in which the input/output component (46) is housed, the main housing unit (54) and the sub-housing unit (56) being adjacent to each other in a first direction (D1), the sub-housing unit (56) having a contour smaller in width in a second direction (D2) perpendicular to the first direction (D1) than the main housing unit (54), the battery case (40) having a recess (58) made up of adjacent external surfaces of the main housing unit (54) and the sub-housing unit (56); and a connector (60) situated in the recess (58)of the battery case (40) and electrically connected to the input/output component (46).