Fastening Member Projecting Portion for Battery Terminal Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The contact resistance between a terminal plate and a fastening member in energy storage devices, such as lithium ion secondary batteries, increases due to vibrations causing deformation of the terminal plate, leading to instability in the contact and potential electrical issues.
Innovation Solution
A metal fastening member with a body portion, shaft portion, and swaged portion is used, where a projecting portion is positioned between the fixed terminal plate and the shaft portion, effectively sandwiching the terminal plate to maintain contact and suppress deformation around the through hole, thereby reducing contact resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a terminal plate is fastened to a current collector by a conductive fastening member, then electrical connection is established, but vibrations cause terminal plate deformation leading to unstable contact and increased contact resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The projecting portion is formed in advance on the fastening member to preemptively counteract the harmful effect of vibrations. This protrusion applies preliminary pressure to suppress terminal plate deformation before vibrations occur, preventing contact instability and maintaining reliable electrical connection throughout the product lifecycle
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of modifying the entire fastening member or terminal plate, the invention applies a localized structural feature (the projecting portion) at the specific location where vibration-induced deformation occurs. This localized quality change effectively suppresses contact instability without compromising overall assembly integrity or requiring extensive design modifications
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 configuration maintains a stable contact state between the terminal plate and the fastening member, suppressing the increase in contact resistance and ensuring consistent electrical connectivity despite external forces, such as vibrations.
Implementation Method 1
a swaged portion formed on a distal end of the shaft portion, and fixing the terminal plate between the swaged portion and the body portion in a sandwiching manner
Implementation Method 2
one of the body portion and the terminal plate of the fastening member has a projecting portion which is brought into contact with the other of the body portion and the terminal plate, and the projecting portion is positioned between a fixed portion of the terminal plate fixed to the bus bar and the shaft portion of the fastening member
Data Source
AI summary
An energy storage apparatus includes energy storage devices each of which including an electrode assembly, a current collector connected to the electrode assembly, a terminal plate including a through hole, and a metal-made fastening member which fastens the terminal plate and the current collector to each other, and a bus bar physically connected to the terminal plate at a contacting surface of the bus bar and the terminal plate. The metal-made fastening member includes a body portion fixed to the current collector, a shaft portion extending from the body portion and passing through the through hole, and a swaged portion formed on the shaft portion outside the energy storage devices and fixing the terminal plate between the swaged portion and the body portion in a sandwiching manner.