Zigzag Film Outer Body for Compact Energy Storage Modules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Energy storage modules face a trade-off between reducing weight and maintaining high sealing properties and energy density, as increasing the sealing area to ensure safety and performance leads to larger dimensions, which decreases energy density.
Innovation Solution
The energy storage apparatus features a film outer body with zigzag-bent housing portions and a sealing portion that connects adjacent housing portions, using first and second connectors and inclined portions to maintain sealing integrity while minimizing size and weight, allowing for a higher number of electrode assemblies without compromising sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the area of the sealing portion is increased to ensure high sealing property, then sealing reliability is improved, but the outer dimension of the energy storage apparatus is increased, reducing energy density
Solution Approach 1:
The film outer body is bent or curved between adjacent housing portions to extend in a zigzag manner, creating a compact configuration that reduces the overall outer dimension while preserving the sealing area. This curvature principle allows the sealing portion to maintain its integrity without increasing the apparatus envelope volume.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of expanding the sealing portion in a linear direction, the invention utilizes spatial arrangement by bending the film outer body in a zigzag pattern across multiple dimensions. This dimensional reconfiguration allows the sealing portion to connect housing portions effectively without proportionally increasing the outer dimensions of the entire apparatus.
2Weight of moving object
If a common film outer body is used to wrap multiple electrode assemblies, then weight is reduced by eliminating outer cans, but sealing property of individual electrode assemblies may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The film outer body is divided into multiple housing portions, each individually wrapping a specific electrode assembly. The sealing portion acts as a connector between these segmented housing portions, ensuring that each electrode assembly maintains its individual sealing integrity while being part of a common structure. This segmentation allows weight reduction through the common film body while preserving individual sealing properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing portion serves as an intermediary element that connects the housing portions containing individual electrode assemblies. This intermediary structure ensures that the common film outer body does not compromise the sealing of individual assemblies, as the sealing portion provides the necessary sealing function at the interfaces between housing portions.
3Reliability
If the interval between adjacent electrode assemblies is widened to ensure safety, then sealing property is improved, but the outer dimension is increased, reducing energy density
Solution Approach 1:
The zigzag bending of the film outer body creates a compact spatial arrangement that reduces the interval between adjacent electrode assemblies. The curved configuration allows safety distances to be maintained in a more space-efficient manner, improving energy density without compromising safety.
Data Source
AI summary
An energy storage apparatus includes: a plurality of electrode assemblies that are cylindrical, and a film outer body including a plurality of housing portions that individually wrap the plurality of electrode assemblies; and a sealing portion that seals each housing portion and connects the plurality of housing portions to each other. The film outer body is bent or curved between the housing portions adjacent each other to extend in a zigzag manner.