Thermal Insulating Cover With Elastic Sealing For Battery Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal insulating covers for batteries suffer from gaps between the cover and the battery, allowing heat transfer and compromising insulation performance due to their design, which results in reduced effectiveness in maintaining thermal stability.
Innovation Solution
A thermal insulating cover with a cylindrical wall portion that includes a general portion separate from the battery's surface and a protruding portion that elastically abuts the battery, utilizing a foam body with varying density to reduce fitting load and enhance sealing, along with a skin material for protection and adhesion, to close the gap and improve insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the inner opening size of the cover is set to be larger than the external shape size of the battery to secure incorporation properties, then the cover can be easily fitted on the battery, but a gap communicating with the outside is formed between the side surface of the battery and the cover, compromising thermal insulation performance
Solution Approach 1:
The wall portion is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a protruding portion with larger thickness at specific locations and a general portion with smaller thickness at other locations. This local variation in thickness allows the cover to maintain both ease of fitting (through the smaller general portion) and thermal insulation performance (through the larger protruding portion that closes gaps)
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the wall portion is changed locally to create different functional zones. The protruding portion has a larger thickness parameter to provide sealing and insulation, while the general portion has a smaller thickness parameter to facilitate easy fitting. This parameter variation resolves the contradiction between ease of operation and thermal insulation reliability
2Ease of manufacture
If the cover is designed with uniform thickness to simplify manufacturing, then production is easier, but it cannot effectively close gaps between the battery and cover, reducing thermal insulation effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniform thickness, the wall portion employs local quality variation with different thicknesses at different locations. The protruding portion has larger thickness to seal gaps, while the general portion has smaller thickness. This approach prioritizes gap sealing capability over manufacturing simplicity
3Reliability
If the protruding portion abuts extensively on the side surface of the battery to ensure sealing, then gap closure is improved, but the load caused during fitting on the battery increases
Solution Approach 1:
The abutting contact is localized to specific protruding portions rather than distributed extensively across the entire side surface. This concentrated local contact provides sufficient sealing properties while minimizing the overall fitting load on the battery
Solution Approach 2:
The wall portion is segmented into distinct functional zones: protruding portions that provide sealing through elastic abutment, and general portions that reduce contact area and fitting load. This segmentation allows sealing functionality to be achieved with minimal overall force requirement
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
The solution effectively reduces the fitting load, secures thermal insulation, and enhances the sealing properties of the cover, ensuring better thermal performance by utilizing the air layer between the cover and the battery.
Implementation Method 1
the protruding portion which is formed by compression-deforming a thermal insulating layer, which is constructed by a foam body constituting the wall portion, into a shape that extends along the circumferential direction of the wall portion
Implementation Method 2
a thermal insulating cover which is fitted on an object to be thermally-insulated so that a wall portion in a cylindrical form of the cover covers the entire periphery of the side surface of the object
Data Source
AI summary
A thermal insulating cover which can be easily fitted on an object.[Means for solution] A thermal insulating cover 10 to be fitted on a battery B so that a wall portion 12 in a cylindrical form of the cover covers the entire periphery of the side surface of the battery B. The wall portion 12 has a general portion 18, which is disposed to be separate from the side surface of the battery B, and a sealing portion 20, which is formed to protrude inward more than the general portion 18 and elastically abutting on the side surface of the battery B. The thermal insulating cover 10 closes an upper side of a space G formed between the side surface of the battery B and the general portion 18 by the sealing portion 20.