Easy-to-assemble battery pack with prismatic battery cells
First Claim
1. A weld-free battery pack comprising:
- at least two solid battery cells in electrical contact, the battery cells having first and second faces, the battery cells having a positive tab and a negative tab on an edge of the battery cell, the positive tab comprising a pair of separable sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell, and the negative tab comprising a pair of separable sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell;
a positive terminal in electrical contact with one of the positive sub-tabs of one of the battery cells;
a negative terminal in electrical contact with one of the negative sub-tabs of another one of the battery cells;
at least one cooling fin positioned between the battery cells wherein the at least one cooling fin is at least one flat sheet of a stiffness to be a primary structural and locating member of a stack to hold the battery cells and wherein the at least one cooling fin has an edge flange that can be used to position the cells and;
a removable restraint around the battery cells and the fin;
at least one foam strip disposed between the at least two solid battery cells to form a solid contact between adjacent battery cells when the weld-free battery stack is compressed, the at least one foam strip configured to be attached to one of the faces of the battery cells;
wherein the at least two battery cells are connected by direct mechanical contact in a stack with no welding or interconnect frame; and
wherein the at least one cooling fin has at least one slot positioned to accommodate the at least one foam strip, the at least one slot and the at least one foam strip cooperatively engaged such that the at least one foam strip extends into the at least one slot to align the at least two battery cells and the at least one cooling fin.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A weld-free, frameless battery design is provided. The design reduces the number of parts and the weight of the battery pack, simplifies the assembly operation, and keeps the battery pack reparable and remanufacturable with minimal effort and cost. The battery pack includes a stack of battery cells and cooling fins, and a removable restraint is placed around the stack. The positive and negative tabs of the battery cells comprise a pair of sub-tabs which are bent over the faces of the cell. One type of cell can have an extended portion on one of the positive and one the negative sub-tabs which are on opposite faces of the cell. The sub-tabs are used to make the necessary series and parallel connections.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A weld-free battery pack comprising:
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at least two solid battery cells in electrical contact, the battery cells having first and second faces, the battery cells having a positive tab and a negative tab on an edge of the battery cell, the positive tab comprising a pair of separable sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell, and the negative tab comprising a pair of separable sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell; a positive terminal in electrical contact with one of the positive sub-tabs of one of the battery cells; a negative terminal in electrical contact with one of the negative sub-tabs of another one of the battery cells; at least one cooling fin positioned between the battery cells wherein the at least one cooling fin is at least one flat sheet of a stiffness to be a primary structural and locating member of a stack to hold the battery cells and wherein the at least one cooling fin has an edge flange that can be used to position the cells and; a removable restraint around the battery cells and the fin; at least one foam strip disposed between the at least two solid battery cells to form a solid contact between adjacent battery cells when the weld-free battery stack is compressed, the at least one foam strip configured to be attached to one of the faces of the battery cells; wherein the at least two battery cells are connected by direct mechanical contact in a stack with no welding or interconnect frame; and wherein the at least one cooling fin has at least one slot positioned to accommodate the at least one foam strip, the at least one slot and the at least one foam strip cooperatively engaged such that the at least one foam strip extends into the at least one slot to align the at least two battery cells and the at least one cooling fin. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A weld-free battery pack comprising:
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at least one first solid battery cell having first and second faces, the first battery cell having a positive tab and a negative tab on an edge of the battery cell, the positive tab comprising a pair of separable sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell, one sub-tab of the positive tab having an extended portion, and the negative tab comprising a pair of separable sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell, one sub-tab of the negative tab having an extended portion, the extended portion of the positive sub-tab and the extended portion of the negative sub-tab on opposite faces; at least one second solid battery cell having first and second faces, the second battery cell having a positive tab and a negative tab on an edge of the battery cell, the positive tab comprising a pair of sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell, and the negative tab comprising a pair of sub-tabs bent over the first and second faces of the cell; wherein the extended portion of the positive sub-tab of the first battery cell is in electrical contact with the negative sub-tab of the second battery cell or the extended portion of the negative sub-tab of the first battery cell is in electrical contact with the positive sub-tab of the second battery cell; at least one cooling fin positioned between the battery cells wherein the at least one cooling fin is at least one flat sheet of a stiffness to be a primary structural and locating member of a stack to hold the battery cells and wherein the cooling fin has an edge flange that can be used to position the cells; a positive terminal in electrical contact with one of the positive sub-tabs of one of the first or second battery cells; a negative terminal in electrical contact with one of the negative sub-tabs of the another one of the first or second battery cells; a removable band around the first and second battery cells and the fin wherein the at least two battery cells are connected by direct mechanical contact in a stack with no welding or interconnect frame; at least one foam strip disposed between the at least one first battery cell and the at least one second battery to form a solid contact between adjacent battery cells when the weld-free battery stack is compressed, the at least one foam strip configured to be attached to one of the faces of the battery cells; and wherein the at least one cooling fin has at least one slot positioned to accommodate the at least one foam strip, the at least one slot and the at least one foam strip cooperatively engaged such that the at least one foam strip extends into the at least one slot to align the at least two battery cells and the at least one cooling fin. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification