Structural Battery Pack Modules With Honeycomb Load-Bearing Enclosures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery packs for electrified vehicles are heavy due to their separate structural, electrical, and thermal components, which increases vehicle weight and reduces electric range.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design that integrates battery modules with enclosures functioning as structural components, arranged in a honeycomb pattern to reduce weight and combine functionalities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional separate structural components and electrical components are used in battery packs, then functional reliability is improved, but vehicle weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines structural components and electrical components into integrated battery modules where the enclosure serves dual purposes as both protective housing and structural support element, eliminating the need for separate structural frames and reducing overall vehicle weight while maintaining functional reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The battery module enclosure is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: protecting battery cells, providing structural support for the vehicle chassis, and serving as a mounting platform for other components, thereby reducing the number of separate parts needed and lowering vehicle weight
2Adaptability or versatility
If many separate parts are used in battery packs to perform different functions, then functional completeness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functional components are merged into integrated battery modules where structural support, electrical housing, and thermal management elements are combined into unified assemblies, reducing the total number of separate parts while maintaining all necessary functions
Solution Approach 2:
The battery pack is segmented into standardized modular units that can be independently manufactured and assembled, allowing functional completeness to be achieved through configuration of modules rather than through complex integration of numerous separate components
Data Source
AI summary
A battery pack for a vehicle includes a plurality of battery modules arranged in a first predetermined pattern, with each battery module of the plurality of battery modules including a plurality of battery cells arranged in a second predetermined pattern. Each battery module also includes an enclosure surrounding the plurality of cells and configured to function as a structural component of at least one of the battery pack or the vehicle.