Modular Battery Frame with Longitudinal Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery frames are not modular, leading to high costs and logistical difficulties due to the need for individual components for each battery pack size, and they lack efficient thermal control, which can result in reduced battery performance and lifespan.
Innovation Solution
A battery frame design featuring a plurality of longitudinal beams and crossbeams with a retaining section for stacked battery cells, allowing for modularity and improved thermal control through the use of fasteners that extend in a longitudinal direction, reducing the need for adhesive materials and enabling efficient cooling channel construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional battery frames are designed with individual components for each battery pack size, then the mechanical strength and structural integrity are improved, but the manufacturing cost and logistical complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The battery frame is designed with a modular structure where crossbeams can be selectively positioned and retained using the same longitudinal beams and fastening mechanisms. This universal design allows a single frame type to accommodate multiple battery pack sizes by simply adjusting which crossbeams are installed and their positions, eliminating the need for completely different frame designs for each pack size while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery frame is divided into modular components including longitudinal beams, crossbeams, and retaining sections that can be independently configured. This segmentation allows the frame to be adapted to different battery pack sizes by selecting and positioning appropriate numbers of crossbeams between the longitudinal beams, reducing logistical complexity while preserving mechanical strength through standardized connection points.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional battery frames use adhesive materials for mechanical integration, then the assembly process is simplified, but the thermal control efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces adhesive bonding with a mechanical fastening system using fasteners that extend through the longitudinal beams to retain crossbeams. This mechanical substitution maintains ease of assembly through standardized fastening operations while simultaneously improving thermal control by creating direct thermal pathways between battery cells and the frame structure, eliminating the thermal insulation effect of adhesives.
3Stability of the object's composition
If battery frames are designed without modularity, then the structural stability is improved, but the adaptability to different battery pack sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The battery frame employs a dynamic modular configuration where crossbeams can be selectively positioned at different locations between the longitudinal beams based on the specific battery pack size requirements. This dynamic adaptability allows the same frame structure to maintain optimal structural stability for various pack sizes by adjusting the number and position of crossbeams, rather than requiring completely different rigid frame designs.
4Strength
If fasteners extend in longitudinal direction through longitudinal beams, then the mechanical integration is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening system is segmented into standardized fasteners that work with pre-defined retention points on the longitudinal beams. This segmentation allows the mechanical integration to be achieved through repeated application of the same simple fastening operation at multiple locations, rather than requiring complex integrated fastening mechanisms, thus improving mechanical strength while keeping manufacturing complexity manageable through standardization.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery frame for providing structural support for a battery pack for retaining rows of stacked battery cells is provided. The battery frame includes a plurality of longitudinal beams and a plurality of crossbeams arranged between and connected to the longitudinal beams. The crossbeams are arranged in parallel to each other and include two outer crossbeams and an inner crossbeam. The inner crossbeam is arranged between the outer crossbeams. A retaining section for retaining one of the rows of stacked battery cells is provided between any neighboring pair of the crossbeams so that the rows of stacked battery cells and the inner crossbeam are alternately arranged between the two outer crossbeams. Each of the crossbeams is connected to the longitudinal beams by a plurality of fasteners extending in a longitudinal direction of the crossbeams through the longitudinal beams and into the crossbeams.