Hot-Melt Battery Cell Stacking for Alignment and Heat Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery modules face challenges in maintaining a stable stacked structure due to misalignment and inadequate heat dissipation, particularly when subjected to severe driving environments like high temperatures and vibrations, and require improved adhesive strength and manufacturing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring stacked battery cells with hot melt coating in specific patterns to ensure adhesion and alignment, paired with end plates and bus bar assemblies for electrical connection and thermal management, including a gap filler for efficient heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If battery cells are stacked without hot melt coating, then manufacturing process is simpler, but the stacked structure becomes unstable and cells misalign
Solution Approach 1:
Hot melt coating is introduced as an intermediary substance between battery cells to achieve stable stacking. The hot melt serves as a bonding agent that adheres adjacent cells together, preventing misalignment and maintaining structural stability during assembly and operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the adhesive material changes from solid to liquid through heating, then back to solid upon cooling. This phase transformation allows the hot melt to flow and conform to cell surfaces during application, then solidify to provide strong bonding, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and stability.
2Strength
If hot melt is coated in dense pattern, then adhesive strength increases, but manufacturing time and material consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniform dense coating, the hot melt is applied in specific patterns (such as at corners or along edges) where bonding is most critical. This localized approach provides sufficient adhesive strength while reducing overall material consumption and application time, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency.
3Stability of the object's composition
If battery cells are tightly stacked without gap filler, then structural compactness improves, but heat dissipation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A gap filler material is introduced as an intermediary between tightly stacked battery cells. This material fills the spaces between cells, maintaining structural compactness while providing thermal conduction pathways that enable effective heat dissipation from the battery cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The gap filler represents a composite material solution that combines structural support functions with thermal management capabilities. By selecting materials with appropriate thermal conductivity and mechanical properties, the system achieves both compactness and heat dissipation performance.
4Manufacturing precision
If end plates are not used, then device complexity reduces, but alignment precision and structural support deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The end plates serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide structural support to maintain cell alignment, act as mounting surfaces for electrical connections, and serve as interfaces for thermal management systems. This multi-functionality justifies their inclusion despite increasing component count, as they consolidate several requirements into single components.
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 design stabilizes the battery module structure, enhances adhesive strength, simplifies manufacturing, and improves heat dissipation, enabling robust performance across various vehicle types while reducing development costs and time.
Implementation Method 1
hot melt being coated and fixing between at least some of the plurality of battery cells
Implementation Method 2
a gap filler for efficient heat dissipation
Data Source
AI summary
A battery module includes a plurality of battery cells stacked on one another in a first direction and configured to form a stacked structure. In particular, some battery cells of the plurality of battery cells are coated with hot melt respectively interposed between some battery cells of the plurality of battery cells to fix the battery cells. The battery module further includes a pair of end plates that surface-contact with opposite end battery cells of the stacked structure; and a pair of bus bar assemblies arranged at opposite ends of the stacked structure in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and configured to connect electrodes of the plurality of battery cells located at opposite ends in the second direction to each other.