Stacked Pouch Cell Module With Dovetail Supports and Pressure Contacts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules with flexible packaging face challenges in controlling compression force during operation, volume changes due to cell swelling, ensuring reliable electrical connections, and maintaining mechanical integrity, leading to reduced lifespan and increased complexity.
Innovation Solution
A battery module design featuring blind frames with dovetail joints and complementary shape connections between metal bars and busbars, allowing for precise mechanical locking and solderless electrical connections, ensuring consistent compression and easy disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional electrical connections with welding are used, then reliable electrical connection is achieved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the welding process (thermal/chemical joining) with a mechanical insertion system. The busbar with insertion portion is simply inserted into the connector housing, eliminating the need for welding equipment, skilled welders, and post-weld inspection processes. This mechanical substitution reduces manufacturing complexity while maintaining reliable electrical connection through the mechanical fit and contact pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector design allows for self-alignment and self-securing through the insertion mechanism. The busbar's insertion portion automatically positions itself within the connector housing, and the structural design ensures proper contact without requiring additional alignment tools or complex assembly procedures. This self-service characteristic simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces operational complexity.
2Reliability
If welding is used for electrical connections, then strong electrical connection is achieved, but ease of repair and maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical connection system is segmented into separable components: the busbar with insertion portion and the connector housing. This segmentation allows the connection to be easily disconnected and reconnected without damage, enabling simple replacement of individual components during maintenance or repair, whereas welding creates an irreversible monolithic joint that requires complex cutting and cleaning procedures for any modification.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system transitions from a static, permanent welded joint to a dynamic, reversible mechanical connection. The insertion and removal capability provides operational flexibility, allowing the connection to be adapted, adjusted, or replaced as needed during the battery module's lifecycle, significantly improving ease of repair and maintenance compared to permanent welding.
3Reliability
If complex electrical connection structures are used, then reliable electrical connection is achieved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary structural elements from the connection system. By using a simple insertion portion that fits directly into the connector housing, the design removes redundant support structures, fastening mechanisms, and protective enclosures that would otherwise be needed to secure complex welded or bolted connections. This extraction of excess material directly reduces the weight of the electrical connection structure while maintaining reliable electrical contact.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention essentially consists of defining a battery module comprising a plurality of individual supports stacked and fixed one on top of the other and in each of which is housed a soft-packaged accumulator (“pouch”), each support housing metal bars forming lugs in rows which individually make an electrical connection by contact with pressure with a terminal (tab) of one of the accumulators and by complementary shapes with busbars.