Flexible Carrier for Battery Pack Sensor Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Incorporating sensors and electrical elements within battery packs is challenging due to the complexity of bundles of wires, which complicates manufacturing and hinders accurate temperature measurement and thermal management system calibration, especially in hybrid or electric vehicles where lithium-ion cells are prone to overheating and lithium plating, causing irreparable damage.
Innovation Solution
A flexible carrier means, such as a multilayer flexible printed circuit board (PCB) with conductive traces and sensors, is used to retain and locate electrical elements within the battery pack, allowing for accurate measurement and management of temperature, pressure, and other parameters, while reducing space usage and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If bundles of wires are used to connect sensors and electrical elements within the battery pack, then the electrical elements can be connected to external components, but the manufacturing process becomes complicated and significant space within the pack is taken up
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate wire connections into a single integrated flexible circuit board that carries multiple electrical traces. This consolidation eliminates the need for bundles of individual wires, reducing space consumption and simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining all necessary electrical connections between sensors and external components.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible circuit board serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support for sensors, establishes electrical connections through integrated traces, and acts as a routing medium for multiple signals. This multi-functionality replaces what previously required separate wire bundles for each connection, thereby reducing overall complexity and space usage.
2Ease of manufacture
If sensors are incorporated into laminated bus bars instead of being placed deeper within the pack, then manufacturing is simplified, but accurate measurements of cell temperature cannot be obtained as bus bar heating skews the measurement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the temperature sensing function from the power conduction path (bus bars) and places it on a separate flexible circuit board positioned deeper within the battery pack structure. This separation ensures that temperature measurements are taken from a location thermally isolated from bus bar heating, thereby maintaining measurement accuracy while still allowing for relatively simple manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible circuit board acts as an intermediary carrier that holds the temperature sensors at appropriate locations within the battery pack. This intermediary structure allows sensors to be positioned optimally for accurate measurement without requiring direct integration into the bus bar assembly, thus resolving the conflict between manufacturing simplicity and measurement precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If a rigid structure is used to hold electrical elements, then precise positioning is achieved, but flexibility and ease of installation within the battery pack is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible circuit board as the mounting structure for electrical elements and sensors. This flexible substrate can be bent and conform to the specific geometry of the battery pack interior, facilitating easy installation, while still providing sufficient structural support to maintain precise positioning of mounted components during operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A carrier means 1 for retaining and locating one or more sensing means 2,3 within a battery pack, the battery pack comprising one or more cells and a thermal management duct 10 in thermal contact with at least one cell, the carrier means 1 comprising a sensing means 2,3 for sensing one or more conditions of the battery pack and a connection means 4 for providing a communicative connection to the carrier means 1, wherein the sensing means 2,3 is operably connected to the connection means 4.