Safety-First EV Battery Architecture

Battery pack design to improve energy density, reduce space loss, enhance safety against thermal events, and enable direct battery cell mounting without intermediate modules. The pack has a housing with an inner space for cell cases containing the cells. The cells are directly mounted in the pack instead of being pre-assembled into modules. The cell cases have covers with insulating blocks to isolate the electrodes. This allows exhaust gases to vent through the slots. The pack case has frames and a removable drain cover to guide exhaust. The cell cases are stacked in the pack with the drain covers removed. This direct cell mounting eliminates module housing and simplifies assembly. It also allows the pack to be more compact and reduces space loss compared to module-based packs. The exhaust venting through the insulating blocks helps contain thermal events by preventing pressure buildup and preventing fire spread between cells. The removable drain cover allows pack venting during

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A method for assembling a battery cell core to improve battery volume and avoid the need for connecting tabs while ensuring stable welding. The assembly method involves: 1. Placing a battery tab against a battery electrode without connecting tabs. 2. Ultrasonically welding the tab to the electrode using a welding tip with a raised projection. 3. Applying pressure to the welded tab and electrode using a compression mold. This molding step compresses the tab and electrode together under pressure to create a strong welded joint. The compression molding replaces the need for connecting tabs between the tab and electrode. By eliminating connecting tabs and compressively molding the tab and electrode, the battery core can have increased volume without the added weight and space requirements of connecting tabs.

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Battery assembly method to reduce short circuits in lithium-ion batteries by improving voltage resistance at the separator cut edges. The method involves stacking the electrode sheets with the separator in a Z-shape, with the starting and ending edges covered by the positive sheet. This ensures the cut edges are on the same side when assembled. This stabilizes the cut edges and prevents short circuits when the battery is heated during manufacture. It avoids the need for coatings or additives to improve separator voltage resistance.

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Battery design to improve safety by preventing internal short circuits and insulation failures during pressure relief. The battery has multiple cells arranged in rows. Each cell has electrical connections on one side facing another cell row, and pressure relief ports on the opposite side. This separates the electrical connections from the pressure relief ports to prevent conductive particles from the relief discharge moving to the connections and causing shorts or reduced creepage distances.

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A method to manufacture lithium-ion batteries that improves battery assembly efficiency and space utilization while preventing internal component movement. The method involves fixing the positive and negative terminals to the electrode tabs before encapsulating the battery. This prevents the electrode components from shifting during sealing. The terminals are directly connected to the tabs instead of using separate terminal posts. This allows the electrode components to protrude from the battery cover at a controlled height for better electrical contact. The fixed terminals and adjusted component heights prevent displacement issues during battery operation.

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A new method for assembling square lithium batteries that addresses issues with traditional cylindrical battery assembly. The method involves a sequence of steps for accurately positioning and sealing components, exhausting internal gas, and filling electrolyte in a square battery format. This involves using fixtures to hold components in place during assembly, sealing the battery edges before filling electrolyte, exhausting gas through specialized valves, and stacking cells in a square configuration. This improves assembly accuracy, prevents external gas entry, reduces electrolyte loss, and simplifies stacking compared to cylindrical batteries.

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A battery pack design that prevents electrical shorts and fires during pressure relief events. The design involves separating the battery cells into rows and placing a heat exchanger between the rows. If a cell overpressurizes and vents, the discharged emissions flow towards the heat exchanger instead of the adjacent cells. This prevents them from reaching the electrical connections. The heat exchanger can contain a liquid that leaks during relief without affecting the connections. By increasing the distance between the cells and connections, it prevents high voltage ignition from leaked emissions.

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Power supply device with improved safety for applications like backup power sources, electric vehicles, and stationary storage. The device has a unique battery cell arrangement and housing design to prevent short circuits and improve safety when submerged. The battery cells are held upright with spacing between the positive electrode end and bottom. This creates an exhaust space for venting gas if the electrode valves release. The spacing prevents water accumulation on the electrode. A heat-conductive layer between the top and electrode end helps dissipate heat. The design reduces height by using the exhaust space.

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A thin walled cylindrical battery design to increase cell density and capacity. The battery has a thin walled cylindrical shell with a cover plate at each end. The thin walled shell allows more cells to be packed into a compact battery. The cover plates have welded tabs for electrical connection. The shell also has a plastic layer between the shell and cover plates to prevent deformation during welding. An explosion vent is provided to prevent overpressure. The thinner walls, cover plate welds, and vent mitigate safety risks.

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An improved method for assembling large cylindrical aluminum shell batteries with reduced leakage and internal damage risks. The assembly process uses continuous penetration welding instead of resistance welding or ultrasonic torque welding to join the positive electrode case to the aluminum shell. This avoids high heat generation that can burn the diaphragm and create metal shavings. Additionally, the assembly sequence is modified to prevent top leakage by inserting the electrode stack into the shell before sealing the top. This eliminates the need for liquid injection through the top pole, which can leak. The bottom leakage risk is reduced by using a special bottom sealing gasket.

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A vehicle with an electrical energy storage system that has a unique bursting mechanism to prevent cell rupture explosions and fires. The cells in the storage module have burst openings on the bottom. Fluidically connecting these burst openings to a safety volume below the module prevents pressure buildup inside the cells. If a cell overheats and bursts, the gases escape into the safety volume instead of the vehicle interior. This prevents thermal propagation and fire spread. The safety volume is between the storage module bottom and the vehicle underbody. An opening in the module bottom connects to it.

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Battery cell design with simplified assembly and reduced short circuit risk compared to conventional cells. The cell has a housing, battery assembly, cover, and current collector. The housing has an area around the opening that can be laser welded from the outside. This allows the cover and collector to be joined to the housing in that area without internal welding. This simplifies assembly and prevents metal dust from welding inside the cell. The external welding also facilitates electrical connection between the collector and housing.

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A battery system design that improves safety by isolating modules prone to thermal runaway from the rest of the battery pack. The battery pack is divided into separate modules that can have their own thermal runaway events without directly affecting other modules. This prevents a thermal runaway in one module from spreading to other modules and causing a cascading failure. The modules are arranged in a frame to contain any individual module failures.

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Battery cell design to improve safety and overcurrent capability by reducing internal resistance and welding defects. The cell has a case, electrode assembly, end cover, and current collecting member. The end cover seals the cell opening. The current collector is installed between the tab and cover, allowing welding to join them. This avoids uneven tab surfaces that cause welding defects. A protrusion on the cover supports the tab. The collector also has escape recesses to prevent welding the cover. The design reduces internal resistance by connecting current paths through the tab layers. It also improves uniformity and reduces welding defects.

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Battery cell design with improved reliability and reduced manufacturing complexity. The battery cell has a locked protective film around the electrode assembly that is secured to the insulating member. This prevents issues like film separation or stringing during assembly. The film has features like holes and extensions that engage the insulating member. The film locks to the insulating member using a pawl or boss. The locked film prevents film separation and stringing. This is achieved by a manufacturing method where the film is inserted around the assembly, locked to the insulating member, then the assembly is enclosed in the cell housing.

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Battery pack assembly for improved safety and assembly efficiency compared to conventional battery packs. The assembly has the battery cells connected in series/parallel using a circuit board between the cells and cases. This reduces the number of connectors compared to directly connecting the cells. The explosion-proof valve is on one end of the cell near the upper case and the electrical connection is on the other end near the lower case. This separates thermal and electrical management areas for improved safety by preventing electrical shorts during thermal runaway. The circuit board also has sensors to monitor cell parameters for protection.

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Battery cell manufacturing method and apparatus to prevent venting and deformation during initial charging. The method involves placing the battery can with the electrode assembly and electrolyte in an evacuated chamber, precharging the cell in the chamber, and exhausting the gases generated during precharging into the chamber. This prevents internal pressure buildup and external deformation during initial charging. The exhaust chamber can be sealed or have an inert gas injection system. The design allows scaling up battery cell capacity without venting issues.

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Battery design to improve assembly efficiency while maintaining safety. The battery has a support that separates the internal box into chambers. One chamber holds a pressure relief mechanism on the battery cell, and the other chamber holds the rest of the cell and a binder. This allows fixing the cell and binder together in the box while leaving the relief mechanism unobstructed. The support holds the cell steady and prevents binder from entering the relief chamber. This ensures stability and prevents dislodging of the relief mechanism during assembly. The design improves assembly efficiency by allowing multiple cells to be packed tightly together with fixed connections while still allowing functional relief mechanisms.

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Cylindrical battery assembly method and battery design that improves overcurrent capacity and reduces internal resistance. The method involves insulated and sealed installation of the positive pole in the housing, with a groove and riveting ribs. The positive current collector engages the groove. This provides larger welding area and thinner pole for lower resistance. The riveting block strengthens the positive side. The sealing and insulation between pole and housing prevent shorts.

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Battery design for electric vehicles that improves cooling and protection compared to conventional batteries. The battery has cells with conductors connected to busbars covered by insulation. The first busbar is on one side of the cells and the second busbar on the opposite side. This allows cooling from multiple directions through the busbars, preventing hotspots. It also shields the cells from external impacts since the busbars are not aligned.

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