Battery packaging and insert molding for electric vehicles
AssigneeThunder Power New Energy Vehicle Development Company Limited
InventorYung-Kang Yang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A battery pack for an electric vehicle may include a plurality of battery cells arranged in on or more rows, a coolant loop, and a molded insert that encompasses the plurality of cells and the coolant loop such that the plurality of cells and the coolant loop are fixed relative to each other. The molded insert may cover a large portion of the coolant loop and/or the individual battery cells of the battery pack. An injection mold can be used as a fixture to hold the individual battery cells in place relative to the coolant loop, and the molded insert can be injected around the battery and coolant loop assembly.
Claims20
A battery pack for an electric vehicle, the battery pack comprising:
- a plurality of battery cells arranged in on or more rows;
- a coolant loop;
- and
- a molded insert that encompasses the plurality of cells and the coolant loop such that the plurality of cells and the coolant loop are fixed relative to each other, wherein the molded insert comprises a single injection-molded piece that that is injected around the plurality of battery cells to encase the coolant loop.
A method of manufacturing a battery pack for an electric vehicle, the method comprising:
- providing an injection mold;
- placing a plurality of battery cells in the injection mold arranged in one or more rows;
- routing a coolant loop around the one or more rows of the plurality of battery cells in the injection mold;
- and
- injection molding a molded insert that encompasses the plurality of cells and the coolant loop such that the plurality of cells and the coolant loop are fixed relative to each other, wherein the molded insert comprises a single injection-molded piece that that is injected around the plurality of battery cells to encase the coolant loop.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.