Stacked Battery-Board Assemblies for Vibration-Resistant Cell Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
The difficulty in replacing battery cells in a battery pack without damaging adjacent cells and the time-consuming process of unsoldering and resoldering terminals in high vibration environments.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design featuring a stack of battery-board assemblies with circuit boards, electrical connectors, and heating elements, where battery cells are sandwiched between circuit boards and connectors are clamped together, allowing for easy replacement without unsoldering and resoldering, and enabling communication and maintenance through traces and pins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If battery cells are secured in a battery case with potting compound and terminals are soldered or welded to ensure connectivity in high vibration environments, then reliability is improved, but ease of repair deteriorates because removing and replacing cells becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into modular battery-board assemblies, where each assembly contains a battery cell mounted on a circuit board with integrated connectors. This segmentation allows individual assemblies to be easily removed and replaced without affecting other cells, resolving the contradiction by enabling quick replacement while maintaining reliable connections through the modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery cell is extracted from the traditional potting compound enclosure and mounted on a circuit board with external connectors. This extraction eliminates the need for soldering or welding terminals to ensure connectivity, while the board-mounted connectors enable easy plugging and unplugging for cell replacement, thus improving both reliability and ease of repair.
2Reliability
If battery cells are secured with potting compound to ensure stability in high vibration environments, then reliability is improved, but productivity deteriorates because removing cells from potting compound is time-consuming and risks damaging adjacent cells
Solution Approach 1:
Each battery cell is mounted on its own circuit board assembly with integrated connectors, creating independent replaceable units. This segmentation eliminates the need to work with potting compound entirely, allowing rapid removal and installation of individual cells without risking damage to adjacent cells, thus improving productivity while maintaining vibration resistance through the rigid board mounting.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical potting compound system is replaced with a circuit board mounting system that uses mechanical attachment methods (screws, clips, or adhesive to the board). This substitution eliminates the time-consuming and damaging removal process associated with potting compound while maintaining secure attachment for vibration resistance.
3Reliability
If terminals are soldered or welded to battery cell terminals to ensure connectivity, then reliability is improved, but ease of repair deteriorates because unsoldering and resoldering is difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The soldering or welding process is extracted and replaced with board-mounted electrical connectors that interface with the battery cell terminals. This extraction eliminates the difficult and time-consuming unsoldering and resoldering operations, while the connectors provide reliable electrical connectivity that can be easily disconnected and reconnected for cell replacement.
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
Facilitates quick and efficient replacement of battery cells, reduces the risk of damaging adjacent cells, and provides uniform heating and load balancing, enhancing the battery pack's scalability and reliability in harsh environments.
Implementation Method 1
at least one heating element proximate the battery cell
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack comprises a stack of battery-board assemblies. Each battery-board assembly includes a circuit board, an electrical connector mounted on the circuit board, and a battery cell secured to a side of the circuit board. The battery cells are sandwiched between the circuit boards and the connectors are interconnected. The circuit boards and the connectors electrically connect the battery cells together.