Sealed Battery Clip Structure for Flat Current Collector Folding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery manufacturing processes face issues with current collection sheets being bent in waves, leading to tears and increased production costs due to the need for reworking to achieve a waveless fold.
Innovation Solution
A sealed battery design featuring a multilayered electrode assembly with extended sections of current collection sheets and a clip system that allows for controlled folding without waviness, using a plate section as a fulcrum to secure and fold the sheets, preventing internal short-circuits and enabling easy connection to terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If current collection sheets are stacked and folded in conventional manner, then battery assembly is completed, but the sheets become bent in waves causing tears and requiring rework
Solution Approach 1:
A fold assistance protrusion is introduced as an intermediary element between the current collection sheets and the folding process. This protrusion provides a controlled fulcrum point that guides the folding action, preventing the sheets from bending in waves. The protrusion acts as a mediator that transforms the uncontrolled folding process into a controlled one, ensuring flat folds without requiring rework.
Solution Approach 2:
The fold assistance protrusion is positioned in advance within the battery box to prepare for the folding operation. By having the protrusion already in place before the current collection sheets are folded, the system ensures that the sheets will fold flat from the start. This preliminary positioning prevents the formation of wave-like bends that would otherwise require corrective rework.
2Device complexity
If current collection sheets are folded without assistance, then folding process is simple, but the sheets tear due to tensile and compressive stress
Solution Approach 1:
The fold assistance protrusion serves as a mediator that distributes the folding stress across a controlled area. Instead of the sheets bending freely and creating concentrated stress points that lead to tears, the protrusion provides a structured fulcrum that spreads the load. This intermediary element maintains sheet integrity while keeping the folding mechanism itself relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameter of the folding process by introducing a fixed fulcrum point through the protrusion. This alters the stress distribution parameters during folding, preventing the tensile and compressive stresses that cause tearing. The protrusion modifies the folding geometry to ensure smooth, controlled deformation without exceeding the material's stress limits.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional folding method is used, then production cost increases due to rework, but the battery can be assembled
Solution Approach 1:
The fold assistance protrusion is installed in advance during battery assembly, before the folding operation occurs. This preliminary setup ensures that the first folding attempt succeeds without requiring rework. By preparing the folding path in advance through the protrusion, the system eliminates the need for costly corrective operations while maintaining production efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potential harm of uncontrolled folding (which causes waves and tears) into a benefit by using the fold assistance protrusion to guide the folding process. The protrusion, which might seem like an added complexity, actually prevents the harmful effects of improper folding and eliminates the need for expensive rework, thereby reducing overall manufacturing costs.
Data Source
AI summary
A sealed battery of the present invention comprises: an electrode assembly having a multilayered structure in which a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator are layered; and a first clip. The positive electrode has a positive-electrode current collection sheet and a positive-electrode active material layer; and the negative electrode has a negative-electrode current collection sheet and a negative-electrode active material layer. The electrode assembly has the following sections: a positive-electrode extended section which is a layered portion of the positive-electrode current collection sheet and extends from the multilayered structure; and a negative-electrode extended section which is a layered portion of the negative-electrode current collection sheet and extends from the multilayered structure. The first clip is provided in such a way that either one of the positive-electrode extended section and the negative-electrode extended section is sandwiched and fastened between the first plate section and the second plate section; and the first clip has a first gripping opening. The positive-electrode extended section or the negative-electrode extended section fastened by the first clip has a first fold portion formed by folding the current collection sheet by using an end of the first or second plate section at the first gripping opening as a fulcrum point.