Claims:We claim:
1. A housing (100) for a battery pack, said housing (100) comprises a hollow casing (104) to enclose a stack of pouch cells (120) and at least one end cap (102, 108) to cover at least one open side of said casing (104), said stack of pouch cells (120) is supported by a tab holder within said housing (100), characterized in that,
said housing (100) adaptable to enclose at least two variants of pouch cells (120), a first variant in which a first stack comprises plurality of first pouch cells (120) which are of same and first predetermined thickness, and a second variant in which a second stack comprises plurality of second pouch cells (120) which are of same and second predetermined thickness, said first predetermined thickness is not equal to said second predetermined thickness, and any one of said first variant and said second variant is used at a time in said housing (100).

2. The housing (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein two opposite sides (106, 114) of said casing (104), which faces edges of said plurality of pouch cells (120), comprises multiple first grooves (112) in longitudinal direction, said first grooves (112) forms at least one region on respective sides to accommodate sealing seam (122) of said plurality of pouch cells (120).

3. The housing (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least one region is fillable with required amount of optional Thermal Insulation Material (TIM).

4. The housing (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said end caps (102, 108) are mounted to said casing (104) through any one from a group comprising fasteners, adhesive and combination of fasteners and snaps, wherein holes for said fasteners are provided in second grooves (118), formed external to said two opposite sides (106, 114).

5. The housing (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one plate module (210) is inserted when said second variant of pouch cells (120) are used in place of said first variant, wherein said at least one plate module (210) provides a pre-compression needed for said second pouch cells (120) within said casing (106), and are configured to contract and expand along with contraction and expansion of said second pouch cells (120).

6. A plate module (210) for a housing (100) of a battery pack, said battery pack comprising plurality of pouch cells (120), said plate module (210) comprises:
a base plate (202);
a cover plate (208), and
at least one flexible member (204) positioned between said base plate (202) and said cover plate (208), characterized in that,
a side profile (206) formed on at least two edges of said base plate (202), said side profile (206) retains and holds said cover plate (208) within said base plate (202).

7. The plate module (210) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said at least one flexible member (204) is any one of integrally formed on said base plate (202) and externally fixed on said base plate (202) in removable manner, said at least one flexible member (204) exerts force on said cover plate (208) in a direction away from said base plate (202).

8. The plate module (210) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said at least one flexible member (204) integrally formed on said base plate (202) comprises a cantilever type spring element, wherein each element is joined with said base plate (202) from one end, and the opposite end is elevated above said base plate (202).

9. The plate module (210) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said at least one flexible member (204) externally fixed on said base plate (202) in removable manner comprises spring plates, wherein each of said at least one spring plates is mounted on said base plate and covered with cover plate (208), said cover plate (208) is designed to conform with profile of said spring plates.

10. The plate module (210) as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one plate module (210) is inserted in a casing (104) of said housing (100) to support and apply necessary pressure to plurality of said pouch cells (120).
, Description:Complete Specification:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

Field of the invention:
[0001] The present invention relates to a housing and a plate module for the battery pack.

Background of the invention:
[0002] A patent literature 201827012701 discloses a battery module. The present disclosure relates to a battery module suitable for minimizing increase in overall volume due to increased capacity and simplifying the connection structure of the battery cells, by surrounding battery cells with a battery receiving unit and a battery cover as substitutes for cartridges. The battery module of the present disclosure includes a battery receiving unit including, within a receiving housing, a receiving groove and a receiving structure having a zigzag shape on a receiving sidewall and surrounding the receiving groove, battery cells partially received in the receiving groove and contacted with the receiving structure, and including electrode leads protruded from the receiving housing; and a battery cover including a seating groove formed within a seating housing and open to the receiving groove for seating the battery cells, and a seating structure having a zigzag shape on a seating sidewall surrounding the seating groove, in which the seating housing covers the receiving groove of the receiving housing and is penetrated with the electrode leads.

[0003] A patent literature DE102009035482 discloses Battery i.e. lithium ion battery, has multiple battery cells clamped between two end plates to form cell stack, and unit provided for exposing pressure load to cell stack in stacking direction and designed as spring or active actuator. The battery has multiple battery cells clamped between two end plates to form a cell stack. A unit is provided for exposing a pressure load to the cell stack in a stacking direction and designed as a spring or an active actuator. The actuator is controlled based on life span/pressure characteristic diagram or measured values of temperature and/or pressure in the cell stack. The battery cells are formed from lithium ions and designed as coffee bag cells.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings:
[0004] An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawing,
[0005] Fig. 1 illustrates an exploded view of housing of a battery pack, according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0006] Fig. 2 illustrates a plate module for the housing, according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0007] Fig. 3 illustrates different views of the housing assembled with the plate module, according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0008] Fig. 4 illustrates the plate module with second variant of flexible member, according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
[0009] Fig. 5 illustrates assembly of the second variant of flexible member in the housing, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments:
[0010] Fig. 1 illustrates an exploded view of housing of a battery pack, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The housing 100 comprises a hollow casing 104 to enclose a stack of pouch cells 120 and at least one end caps 102, 108, namely a first end cap 102, and a second end cap 108, to cover at least one open side of the casing 104. The stack of pouch cells 120 is supported by a tab holder (not shown) within the housing 100, specifically in the first end cap 102. The housing 100 characterized by, adaptable to enclose at least two variants of pouch cells 120, a first variant in which a first stack comprises plurality of first pouch cells 120 which are of same and first predetermined thickness, and a second variant in which a second stack comprises plurality of second pouch cells 120 which are of same and second predetermined thickness. The first predetermined thickness is not equal to the second predetermined thickness. In other words, the first variant and the second variant comprise plurality of pouch cells of dissimilar predetermined thickness. For example, the first predetermined thickness is greater than the second predetermined thickness, or the first predetermined thickness is lesser than the second predetermined thickness. Further, the first variant and the second variant are used one at a time in the housing 100. In other words, any one of the first variant and the second variant is used in the housing 100 to make the battery pack.

[0011] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, at least two opposite sides (or walls) of the casing 104 (if viewed from inside or internally), which face towards edges of the plurality of pouch cells 120, namely a first side 106 and a second side 114, comprises multiple first grooves 112 in longitudinal direction along the height of the sides. The first grooves 112 forms at least one region on respective sides to accommodate sealing seam 122 of the plurality of pouch cells 120. Further, the first grooves 112 protrudes out from the inner surface of the first side 106 and the second side 114. The at least one region is fillable with required amount of optional Thermal Insulation Material (TIM). Still further, at least two slots (one for each side) 122 are provided along the height of the casing 104 and external to the casing 104. The slots 122 are used for mounting to a chassis of a vehicle or any other structure where the battery pack is to be used.

[0012] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, the end caps 102, 108 are mounted to the casing 104 through any one from a group comprising fasteners, adhesive and combination of fasteners and snaps. The holes for the fasteners are provided in second grooves 118, formed external to the two opposite sides 106, 114. The second grooves 118 supports mounting of tab holder, and two end caps 102, 108. The design of the second grooves 118 is also along the length of the casing 104 in longitudinal direction. The design acts as fin which aids in heat dissipation, mounting screws and structural stiffness.

[0013] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, a single sealing member 116 seals an interfacing ends of and between the casing 104, specifically the edge profile 110, and at least one of the end caps 102, 108 in axial and radial manner. The casing 104 is shown with two open sides. However, the casing 104 may have one open side, in which case only one sealing member 116 is used. Further, two or more sealing member 116 may be used beside (sequentially) each other, at the same place.

[0014] In yet another embodiment, at least one plate module 210 (shown in Fig. 2) is inserted when the second variant of pouch cells 120 is used in place of the first variant. The use of second variant is emphasized to indicate that the at least one plate module 210 may not be needed with the first variant. However, if the second variant is used which is of lesser thickness than the first variant, then a void is formed in the housing 100. The at least one plate module 210 acts as a spacer or filler for the void, and also provides a pre-compression needed for the second pouch cells 120 within the housing 100. The at least one plate module 210 is configured to contract and expand along with contraction and expansion of the second pouch cells 120 during a working/operation cycle of the battery pack. The design of the housing 100 facilitates provision for at least one plate module 210. When using the second stack of pouch cells 120, considering cell thickness variations, the gap/void formed in the housing 100 is compensated or filled by the at least one plate module 210. The at least one plate module 210 is either assembled permanently or temporarily.

[0015] A working or operation of the housing 100 is explained with an example. Consider a scenario where the housing 100 is specifically made for first variant. However, in due course of time due to changes in the requirement and other factors, the battery pack of different energy output is needed which is possible with the use of second variant only. The use of second variant in turn necessitates the design of new housing 100 with specific dimensions. However, with the modular housing 100 disclosed in the present invention, the same housing 100 which is used for the first variant is used for the second variant as well without any modifications or new designs. The plate module 210 facilitates the assembly of the second variant in the housing 100. Thus, manufacturing, design process for the different housing 100 is avoided, i.e. a dedicated housing 100 for the second variant is completely avoided.

[0016] According to the present invention, the second end plate 108 is designed to hold the pouch cells 120 with required stability and order. The second end plate 108 comprises plurality of protrusions to support the assembly of the pouch cells 120.

[0017] Fig. 2 illustrates a plate module for the housing, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The battery pack comprises plurality of pouch cells 120. The plate module 210 comprises a base plate 202, a cover plate 208, and at least one flexible member 204 positioned between the base plate 202 and the cover plate 208, characterized in that, a side profile 206 formed on at least two edges of the base plate 202. The side profile 206 retains and holds the cover plate 208 within an area of the base plate 202. Also, the cover plate 208 is may be held by the side profile 206 against force of the at least one flexible member 204. The at least one flexible member 204 is at least one of a plastic, a metal, an alloy, or any other material known in the art, or combination thereof.

[0018] The at least one flexible member 204 is any one of integrally formed on the base plate 202 and externally fixed on the base plate 202 in removable manner. Once positioned inside the casing 104 along with the pouch cells 120, the at least one flexible member 204 exerts force on the cover plate 208 in a direction away from the base plate 202. The Fig. 2 illustrates two views for the base plate 202 and two views of the plate module 210. Further, the casing 104 of the housing 100 is also shown where the assembled plate module 210 is illustrated. A top view of the casing 104 is shown explicitly to illustrate the assembly of the plate module 210 on two extreme sides. Although, two plate modules 210 are shown, but number of plate modules 210 installable is based on the requirement such as one, three, four, five etc. The at least one flexible member 204 shown is integral formed in the base plate 202 and comprises set of two cantilever type spring elements, where each element is joined with the base plate 202 from one end, and the opposite end is elevated above the base plate 202. A single cantilever type spring element is also usable instead of two. Further, the at least one flexible member 204 may also be selected from a group comprising a compression spring, a leaf spring and other types of spring known in the art with corresponding fixtures needed to hold between the base plate 202 and the cover plate 208. The plate module 210 is usable as retrofit element in existing housing 100 as well.

[0019] The at least one plate module 210 is inserted in the casing 104 of the housing 100 to support and apply necessary pressure to plurality of the pouch cells 120.

[0020] The housing 100 comprising its design, optionally the sealing member 116 and the plate module 210 are although usable in independent manner, but together provides a combined effect to the end product, which is the battery pack. The present invention provides the modularity in the design of the battery pack with different variants of the pouch cells 120.

[0021] Fig. 3 illustrates different views of the housing assembled with the plate module, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Only the casing 104 of the housing 100 (without pouch cells) is illustrated for better explanation. The casing 104 shown on left side is shown with only the assembled base plate 202. The casing 104 shown on the right side is shown with the completely assembled plate module 210. Further, a cross section view 302 of the casing 104 is shown. The plurality of pouch cells 120 are shown to be assembled inside the casing 104 with the plate modules 210 inserted at two extreme ends. Due to the assembly of the pouch cells 120, the flexible members 204 on the base plate 202 are under tension and in a state where it applies a predetermined pressure to the pouch cells 120.

[0022] Fig. 4 illustrates the plate module with second variant of flexible member, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The base plate 202 accommodates a second type of flexible member 204 (to be referred as spring plate). The spring plates are either one or plurality in numbers based on requirements. The spring plates are positioned inside the sleeves (not shown) provided on the base plate 202, and then covered with the cover plate 208 which is designed to conform with the design of the spring plates.

[0023] Fig. 5 illustrates assembly of the second variant of flexible member in the housing, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The casing 104 is shown ready to be inserted with the plate module 210. The plate module 210 is provided with spring plates. The Fig. 5 also shows two views, each showing two states. In view 502, the spring plates are in default state. The profile of the cover plate 208 is designed to conform with the spring plates. In view 504, the spring plates are compressed, hence each of them applying pressure to the cover plate 208 and thus providing required pressure to the plurality of pouch cells 120 along with acting as filler or spacer inside the casing 104.

[0024] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, a modular design for housing 100 of the battery pack and to accommodate multiple variants of pouch cells 120 thereon is provided. For example, the housing 100 is applicable for 48V, 67/ 50/20Ahr battery pack. The sealing member 116 provides desired sealing between the end cap 102 (made of plastic) and the casing 104 (made of aluminum). The example of material is for explanation, and other materials (or combinations) are equally usable. The casing 104 is openable without destruction during degassing the battery pack and compensates any irregularities in the housing 100. The plate module 210 is modular and adaptive to accommodate different pouch cell 120 thickness variants and pre-compression in the housing 100.

[0025] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.