Method for manufacture of battery pouch terminals
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing battery pouches for the ultrasonically welding together of a stack of battery terminals with an interconnect member to form a battery pack, comprising:
- providing a plurality of flexible pouches containing energy storage medium and each flexible pouch having a positive terminal and a negative terminal extending therefrom, said terminals having a base and a terminal end portion;
supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side in a pouch supporting fixture;
after supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side, clamping each of the terminals against movement by gripping each of the terminals at the bases;
after clamping each of the terminals against movement by gripping each of the terminals at the base, bending each of the end portions of the terminals by a die mechanism to provide an offset shape including a lateral bend in each terminal by which when the flexible pouches are subsequently removed from the fixture and stacked adjacent one another the positive terminals will contact one another and the negative terminals will contact one another;
after the bending, removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture;
after removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture, stacking the flexible pouches within a battery case with the terminals extending outwardly through an opening in the battery case with the positive terminals contacting one another and the negative terminals contacting one another;
and then ultrasonically welding the terminals to an interconnect member for electrically connecting the positive terminals and negative terminals of the flexible pouches, said ultrasonic welding including high-speed vibration of the terminals and flexing of the lateral bends of the terminals so that vibratory energy is absorbed within the lateral bends of the terminals and not transmitted into the plurality of flexible pouches.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A manufacturing method for battery pouches enables the subsequent welding together of a stack of battery terminals with an interconnect member to form a battery pack. According to the method, a plurality of pouches containing energy storage medium and having positive terminals and negative terminals extending therefrom are supported side by side in a pouch supporting fixture and lids are lowered to clamp the pouches against movement. The terminals are clamped against movement by clamping the terminals at the bases thereof. Then, the end portions of the terminals are bent by die mechanisms to provide an offset shape in each terminal by which when the pouches are stacked adjacent one another, the positive terminals will contact one another and the negative terminals will contact one another. The clamping and bending are performed in a way that prevents the flow of electrical current between the positive and negative terminals.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing battery pouches for the ultrasonically welding together of a stack of battery terminals with an interconnect member to form a battery pack, comprising:
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providing a plurality of flexible pouches containing energy storage medium and each flexible pouch having a positive terminal and a negative terminal extending therefrom, said terminals having a base and a terminal end portion; supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side in a pouch supporting fixture; after supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side, clamping each of the terminals against movement by gripping each of the terminals at the bases; after clamping each of the terminals against movement by gripping each of the terminals at the base, bending each of the end portions of the terminals by a die mechanism to provide an offset shape including a lateral bend in each terminal by which when the flexible pouches are subsequently removed from the fixture and stacked adjacent one another the positive terminals will contact one another and the negative terminals will contact one another; after the bending, removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture; after removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture, stacking the flexible pouches within a battery case with the terminals extending outwardly through an opening in the battery case with the positive terminals contacting one another and the negative terminals contacting one another; and then ultrasonically welding the terminals to an interconnect member for electrically connecting the positive terminals and negative terminals of the flexible pouches, said ultrasonic welding including high-speed vibration of the terminals and flexing of the lateral bends of the terminals so that vibratory energy is absorbed within the lateral bends of the terminals and not transmitted into the plurality of flexible pouches. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of manufacturing battery pouches for the ultrasonically welding together of a stack of battery terminals with an interconnect member to form a battery pack, comprising:
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providing a plurality of flexible pouches containing energy storage medium and each pouch having a positive terminal and a negative terminal extending therefrom;
said terminals having a base and a terminal end portion;supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side in a flexible pouch supporting fixture having a nesting fixture for each flexible pouch; after supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side, closing a lid onto each of the flexible pouches to clamp the flexible pouches in the nesting fixtures; after closing the lid onto each of the flexible pouches, clamping the terminals against movement by gripping the terminals at the bases thereof via fixed lower clamps that support the bases of the terminals and spring loaded upper clamps that are carried by the lids; after clamping the terminals against movement, bending the end portions of the terminals by a die mechanism to provide an offset shape including a lateral bend in each terminal by which when the flexible pouches are stacked adjacent one another the positive terminals will contact one another and the negative terminals will contact one another; after the bending, removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture; after removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture, stacking the flexible pouches within a battery case with the terminals extending outwardly through an opening in the battery case with the positive terminals contacting one another and the negative terminals contacting one another; and then ultrasonically welding the terminals to an interconnect member for electrically connecting the positive terminals and negative terminals of the flexible pouches, said ultrasonic welding including high-speed vibration of the terminals and flexing of the lateral bends of the terminals so that vibratory energy is absorbed within the lateral bends of the terminals and not transmitted into the plurality of flexible pouches. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of manufacturing battery pouches for the ultrasonically welding together of a stack of battery terminals with an interconnect member to form a battery pack, comprising:
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providing a plurality of flexible pouches containing energy storage medium and each pouch having a positive terminal and a negative terminal extending therefrom;
said terminals having a base and a terminal end portion;supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side in a pouch supporting fixture having a nesting fixture for each pouch; after supporting the plurality of flexible pouches side by side, closing a lid onto each of the flexible pouches to clamp the flexible pouches in the nesting fixtures; after closing the lid onto each of the flexible pouches, clamping the terminals against movement by gripping the terminals at the bases thereof via fixed lower clamps of dielectric material that support the bases of the terminals and spring loaded upper clamps of dielectric material that are carried by the lids; after clamping each of the positive terminals against movement by gripping each of the positive terminals at the base, simultaneously bending the end portions of the all of the positive terminals by closing upper and lower die sets to provide an offset shape including a lateral bend in each positive terminals by which when the flexible pouches are stacked adjacent one another the positive terminals will contact one another; after clamping each of the negative terminals against movement by gripping each of the negative terminals at the base, simultaneously bending the end portions of all of the negative terminals by closing upper and lower die sets to provide an offset shape including a lateral bend in each of the negative terminals by which when the flexible pouches are stacked adjacent one another the negative terminals will contact one another; said bending of the end portions of the positive terminals not being performed at the same time of the bending of the negative to avoid the flow of current between positive and negative terminals during the bending; after the bending, removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture; after removing the plurality of flexible pouches from the supporting fixture, stacking the flexible pouches within a battery case with the terminals extending outwardly through an opening in the battery case with the positive terminals contacting one another and the negative terminals contacting one another; and then ultrasonically welding the terminals to an interconnect member for electrically connecting the positive terminals and negative terminals of the flexible pouches, said ultrasonic welding including high-speed vibration of the terminals and flexing of the lateral bends of the terminals so that vibratory energy is absorbed within the lateral bends of the terminals and not transmitted into the plurality of flexible pouches.
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Specification