Hermetic Battery Casing With Feedthrough Tabs to Cut Weld Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lithium-ion battery pack production methods suffer from packing inefficiencies, leading to reduced energy density and increased manufacturing costs due to the use of multiple welds and individually packaged mono-cells, which increase the likelihood of sealing failures and moisture ingress.
Innovation Solution
A stack assembly approach that bypasses mono-cells, using a fixture to secure electrochemical cells and a feedthrough assembly for electrical connections, reducing the number of welds and packaging materials, and allowing for series or parallel connections directly from the electrode level to the pack level.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional individual mono-cell packaging with multiple welds is used, then each cell can be independently packaged, but the number of weld locations increases leading to sealing failures and moisture ingress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual cell packaging operations into a single integrated hermetic seal. Instead of separately packaging each mono-cell with multiple welds per cell, the invention consolidates the sealing function into one continuous hermetic barrier that encloses the entire battery pack, thereby reducing the total number of weld locations and improving sealing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The hermetic seal serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides moisture protection for all cells, structural support for the battery pack assembly, and electrical isolation between components. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate packaging operations for each cell while maintaining comprehensive protection.
2Quantity of substance
If individual mono-cell packaging is used, then each cell is protected, but packing efficiency decreases leading to reduced energy density
Solution Approach 1:
The invention consolidates individual cell packaging into a single hermetic enclosure that contains multiple cells in series or parallel configurations. This merging eliminates the need for separate packaging materials and structural components for each cell, thereby increasing the proportion of active materials and improving energy density.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple electrochemical cells are nested within a single hermetic seal structure. The cells are arranged in series or parallel connections inside the unified enclosure, allowing efficient use of internal volume and maximizing the quantity of active materials per unit volume, thus improving energy density.
3Reliability
If multiple weld locations are used for sealing, then hermetic sealing can be achieved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate welding operations into a single hermetic sealing process. Instead of performing multiple welds at different locations on individual cells, the invention uses one continuous sealing operation to create the hermetic barrier, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining sealing integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention eliminates redundant packaging materials and structural components that would be required for individual cell packaging. By discarding the need for multiple separate packaging systems and their associated welding operations, the manufacturing process becomes simpler and more cost-effective while achieving the same hermetic protection.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrochemical cell assembly includes a housing defining an internal volume configured to receive an electrochemical cell stack therein. The electrochemical cell stack includes a plurality of electrochemical cells stacked on top of each other. Each of the electrochemical cells includes at least one tab extending therefrom. The assembly may further include a feedthrough assembly configured to be electrically coupled to the electrochemical cell stack. The feedthrough assembly includes a conductive arm configured to align with and contact a tab of a corresponding electrochemical cell of the plurality of electrochemical cells when the electrochemical cell stack is disposed in the internal volume, and a feedthrough connector coupled to the conductive arm and configured to electrically couple the tab of the corresponding electrochemical cell to an electrical component external to the housing. The feedthrough assembly may reduce a number of weld points and an amount of passive materials in the assembly.