Battery assembly and method of forming the same

Abstract

A battery assembly includes a first cell and a second cell adjacent the first cell. A first insulator and a second insulator extend over and encapsulate first electrode and second electrode. A shell extends over the first and second insulators thereby encapsulating the first and second insulators. A mechanical connection is defined between the first insulator of the first cell and the second insulator of the second cell.

1 . A battery assembly comprising:
 a tray including a plurality of overmolded electrical studs;   a plurality of prismatic cells supported by the tray, each cell of the plurality of prismatic cells including
 a cell core having at least one positive electrode and at least one negative electrode provided within a packaging envelope, 
 a positive terminal exposed at a first portion of the packaging envelope, and 
 a negative terminal exposed at a second portion of the packaging envelope, wherein the plurality of cells are arranged in a plurality of rows, each row including at least two cells supported by the tray, for a first row of the plurality of rows the at least two cells including a first cell having a middle portion and a second cell having a middle portion, the middle portion of the second cell and the middle portion of the first cell being spaced-apart in a non-overlapping arrangement and a terminal of the first cell and a terminal of the second cell being in an overlapping arrangement; and 
   a mechanical connection between the first cell and the second cell, the mechanical connection including an elongated member positioned above the terminal of the first cell and above the terminal the second cell, the elongated member being coupled to the plurality of overmolded electrical studs to hold the terminal of the first cell in contact with the terminal of the second cell.   
     
     
         2 . A battery assembly comprising:
 a tray;   a plurality of prismatic cells supported by the tray, each cell of the plurality of prismatic cells including
 a cell core having at least one positive electrode and at least one negative electrode provided within a packaging envelope, 
 a positive terminal exposed at a first end portion of the packaging envelope, and 
 a negative terminal exposed at a second end portion of the packaging envelope, wherein the plurality of cells are arranged in a plurality of rows, each row including at least two cells supported by the tray in an overlapping arrangement, for a first row of the plurality of rows the at least two cells including a first cell having a middle portion and a second cell having a middle portion, the second cell positioned to overlap the first end portion of the first cell, the middle portion of the second cell and the middle portion of the first cell being spaced-apart in a non-overlapping arrangement; and 
   a mechanical connection between the first cell and the second cell, the mechanical connection including an elongated member positioned above the first cell and the second cell, the elongated member holding the first end portion of the first cell in contact with the second cell.   
     
     
         3 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the second end portion of the cell is opposite of the first end portion of the cell. 
     
     
         4 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the at least two cells in the first row are electrically coupled in series. 
     
     
         5 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the packaging envelope is a shell. 
     
     
         6 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the positive terminal is positioned within the packaging envelope and is exposed through a top opening in the packaging envelope and a bottom opening in the packaging envelope. 
     
     
         7 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the mechanical connection includes a vertically extending member coupled to the tray, the first cell including an opening in the positive terminal of the first cell configured to receive the vertically extending member and the second cell including an opening in the negative terminal of the second cell configured to receive the vertically extending member, the negative terminal of the second cell overlapping the positive terminal of the first cell. 
     
     
         8 . The battery assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the opening in the positive terminal of the first cell is an aperture and the opening in the negative terminal of the second cell is an aperture. 
     
     
         9 . The battery assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the tray is made of a polymeric material and the mechanical connection is at least partially captured within the tray. 
     
     
         10 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein for a second row of the plurality of rows the at least two cells includes a third cell having a middle portion and a fourth cell having a middle portion, the fourth cell positioned to overlap the first end portion of the third cell, the middle portion of the fourth cell and the middle portion of the third cell being spaced-apart in a non-overlapping arrangement and further comprising a second mechanical connection between the third cell and the fourth cell, the mechanical connection including an elongated member positioned above the third cell and the fourth cell, the elongated member holding the first end portion of the third cell in contact with the fourth cell. 
     
     
         11 . The battery assembly of  claim 10 , further comprising an elongated member which covers a cell terminal located at a first end of the first row and a cell terminal located at a first end of the second row. 
     
     
         12 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the tray supports at least one component for transmitting communications from plurality of cells to a remote electronic controller. 
     
     
         13 . The battery assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the tray has an upper surface and the middle portion of the first cell rests on the upper surface of the tray, the middle portion of the second cell rests on the upper surface of the tray, and the first end portion of the first cell is spaced apart from the upper surface of the tray. 
     
     
         14 . A battery assembly comprising:
 a tray;   a plurality of prismatic cells supported by the tray, each cell of the plurality of prismatic cells including
 a cell core having at least one positive electrode and at least one negative electrode provided within a packaging envelope, the packaging envelope having a middle portion and a perimeter portion, 
 a positive terminal exposed at the perimeter portion of the packaging envelope, and 
 a negative terminal exposed at the perimeter portion of the packaging envelope, 
   wherein the plurality of prismatic cells includes a first cell, a second cell, and a third cell, the first cell, the second cell, and the third cell being arranged in an overlapping arrangement wherein (i) the positive terminal of the second cell overlaps and is electrically coupled to the negative terminal of the first cell, (ii) the negative terminal of the second cell overlaps and is electrically coupled to the positive terminal of the third cell, (iii) the middle portion of the second cell being spaced-apart in a non-overlapping arrangement from the middle portion of the first cell, (iv) the middle portion of the second cell being spaced-apart in a non-overlapping arrangement from the middle portion of the third cell, and (v) the middle portion of the first cell being spaced-apart in a non-overlapping arrangement from the middle portion of the third cell.   
     
     
         15 . The battery assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the first cell, the second cell, and the third cell are arranged in a row with the second cell positioned between the middle portion of the first cell and the middle portion of the third cell. 
     
     
         16 . The battery assembly of  claim 14 , wherein for each cell of the plurality of prismatic cells the positive terminal of the cell is positioned within the packaging envelope of the cell and is exposed through a top opening in the packaging envelope of the cell and a bottom opening in the packaging envelope of the cell. 
     
     
         17 . The battery assembly of  claim 14 , wherein for each cell the middle portion is between the positive terminal and the negative terminal. 
     
     
         18 . The battery assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the packaging envelope is a shell. 
     
     
         19 . The battery assembly of  claim 14 , further comprising a mechanical connection between the first cell and the second cell, the mechanical connection including an elongated member positioned above the first cell and the second cell, the elongated member holding the first cell in contact with the second cell. 
     
     
         20 . The battery assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the mechanical connection includes a vertically extending member coupled to the tray, the second cell including an opening to receive the vertically extending member and the first cell including an opening to receive the vertically extending member. 
     
     
         21 . The battery assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the tray is made of a polymeric material and the mechanical connection is at least partially captured within the tray.