Linked Battery Module Assembly for Lighter Pack Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery packs require significant labor and result in increased size and weight due to the need for separate bolting of heavy battery modules to a housing, which also necessitates increased rigidity to prevent short circuits during vehicle collisions.
Innovation Solution
A linked battery module and pack design where two battery modules are connected via a linking unit, featuring shared and external restraint members, end plates, and spacers to securely stack rectangular batteries, allowing for easier assembly and reduced weight and size by eliminating the need for a housing or reducing its rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If battery modules are separately bolted to the bottom plate of the housing, then the battery pack can be assembled, but a lot of work is needed to attach the battery modules and the housing size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple battery modules into a integrated battery pack assembly where the housing serves as a common mounting structure for all modules. The housing includes a bottom plate with multiple mounting positions that simultaneously secure several battery modules, eliminating the need for separate attachment operations for each module and reducing overall structural weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously serves as the structural enclosure, the mounting platform for multiple battery modules, and the protective casing. The bottom plate of the housing provides universal mounting capability for all battery modules through integrated bolt attachment points, reducing the need for additional specialized mounting structures.
2Strength
If battery modules are separately bolted to the bottom plate of the housing, then the battery pack can be assembled, but the bottom plate needs to support the weight of each battery module and the housing size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing structure merges the support function for multiple battery modules into a single integrated bottom plate design. The bottom plate is configured with distributed mounting points that collectively support the combined weight of all battery modules, optimizing structural efficiency and minimizing housing weight while maintaining adequate strength.
3Reliability
If the housing has increased rigidity to prevent short circuits during vehicle collisions, then short circuit prevention is improved, but the size and weight of the housing increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed with local quality enhancement where rigidity and protective features are concentrated in specific critical areas rather than uniformly throughout the entire structure. The bottom plate includes strategically positioned reinforcement elements and mounting structures that provide adequate protection against short circuits during collisions while minimizing overall housing weight through localized rather than global strengthening.
Data Source
AI summary
A linked battery module includes a first battery module and a second battery module having a same configuration. The first battery module includes: a battery stack that includes rectangular batteries, stacked in a row in a thickness direction; a restraint member on one side that restrains one side, in a Y direction, of the battery stack; a restraint member on the other side that restrains the other side, in the Y direction, of the battery stack; an end plate on one side that restrains one side, in an X direction, of the battery stack; and an end plate on the other side that restrains the other side, in the X direction, of the battery stack. A linking unit links the end plate on one side of the first battery module to the end plate on the other side of the second battery module.