Battery cell carrier

A stack, comprising:

• (a) battery cells comprising tabs;
• and
• (b) multiple cell carriers attached together, each of the cell carriers comprising:
• (i) a rigid backing to which one of the battery cells is adhered;
• (ii) bus bar supports rigidly mounted to the rigid backing, the bus bar supports having sockets positioned to receive fasteners for securing bus bars to the bar supports;
• and
• (iii) an alignment guide coupled to the rigid backing, the alignment guide comprising one of a protrusion and recess on a front side of the carrier against which the cell is to be placed and the other of the protrusion and recess on a rear side of the carrier opposed to the front side, the protrusion and recess matably couplable to each other and positioned such that in a stack comprising multiple cell carriers the protrusion from one of the cell carriers in the stack forms an interference fit with the recess of an adjacent one of the cell carriers in the stack.

A method for assembling a stack, the method comprising:

• (a) assembling multiple cell carrier assemblies, each of the cell carrier assemblies comprising:
• (i) a battery cell comprising tabs;
• and
• (ii) a cell carrier, comprising:
• (1) a rigid backing to which the cell is adhered;
• (2) bus bar supports rigidly mounted to the rigid backing, the bus bar supports having sockets positioned to receive fasteners for securing bus bars to the bar supports;
• and
• (3) an alignment guide coupled to the rigid backing, the alignment guide comprising one of a protrusion or recess on a front side of the carrier against which the cell is to be placed and the other of the protrusion or recess on a rear side of the carrier opposed to the front side, the protrusion and recess matably couplable to each other and positioned such that in the stack comprising multiple cell carriers the protrusion from one of the cell carriers in the stack forms an interference fit with the recess of an adjacent one of the cell carriers in the stack;
• and
• (4) a dowel hole positioned such that the dowel holes of the cell carriers in the stack align to form a dowel channel extending through the stack;
• (b) aligning the cell carrier assemblies together;
• (c) inserting a dowel through the dowel channel;
• and
• (d) securing the stack in place by clamping the stack along the dowel.