Determining thermal runaway of battery for electric vehicle

Abstract

Devices, methods, and systems for determining thermal runaway of a battery for an electric vehicle are described herein. An apparatus includes a thermal camera configured to determine a change in temperature of a battery of an electric vehicle while the battery is being charged by an electric vehicle charging station, and determine whether thermal runaway will occur in the battery based on the change in temperature of the battery while the battery is being charged. An indication may be provided when the thermal camera determines that thermal runaway will occur in the battery.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to apparatus, methods, and systems for determining thermal runaway of a battery for an electric vehicle. Background Art

[0002] An electric vehicle is a vehicle that uses an electric motor for propulsion. For example, an electric vehicle may use an electric motor instead of, or in combination with, a gasoline-powered engine. Examples of electric vehicles include electric cars (e.g., cars), electric trucks, electric buses, electric motorcycles, electric bicycles, electric drones, or any other type of electric vehicle used to transport people and / or goods.

[0003] Electric vehicles may provide a variety of environmental benefits. For example, electric vehicles may operate more efficiently and / or produce fewer emissions than gasoline-powered vehicles.

[0004] An electric vehicle may include a rechargeable battery, typically a lithium (e.g., lithium-ion) battery, for powering an electric motor of the electric vehicle. The battery of the electric vehicle may be charged using (e.g., by connecting the battery to) an electric vehicle charging station, which may supply power to charge the battery. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 A system for determining thermal runaway of a battery for an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0006] Figure 2 A block diagram of an electric vehicle charging station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0007] Figure 3 is a graph showing an example of thermal changes that occur in a battery of an electric vehicle leading to thermal runaway. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] This article describes an apparatus, method, and system for determining thermal runaway of a battery for an electric vehicle. An apparatus includes a thermal camera configured to determine a change in the temperature of a battery of an electric vehicle while the battery is being charged at an electric vehicle charging station, and based on the change in the temperature of the battery while the battery is being charged, determine whether the battery is experiencing a critical temperature change that can drive thermal runaway. An indication can be provided when the thermal camera determines that the battery is about to experience thermal runaway.

[0009] In some cases, the battery of an electric vehicle may be susceptible to thermal runaway. For example, while an electric vehicle charging station is charging the battery of an electric vehicle, the battery may experience thermal runaway, which may cause damage to the battery and / or cause the battery to catch fire and / or explode. Therefore, thermal runaway of a battery (which will be further described herein) may be an unsafe, dangerous condition.

[0010] However, previous methods of monitoring thermal runaway for electric vehicle batteries may not detect thermal runaway until thermal runaway actually occurs (e.g., has begun to occur) or has already occurred. Therefore, such previous methods may not prevent thermal runaway from occurring while the battery is being charged, and therefore may not prevent damage to the battery and / or prevent the battery from catching fire and / or exploding.

[0011] However, embodiments of the present disclosure may determine (e.g., predict) whether thermal runaway of a battery for an electric vehicle being charged will occur before it actually begins to occur. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may determine whether thermal runaway will occur based on changes in the temperature of the battery while the battery is being charged. Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure may prevent thermal runaway from occurring while the battery is being charged, and thus may prevent damage to the battery and prevent the battery from catching fire and / or exploding.

[0012] In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form part of the present Detailed Description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, the manner in which one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced.

[0013] These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and mechanical, electrical and / or process changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0014] It should be understood that the elements shown in the various embodiments herein may be added, exchanged, combined and / or eliminated to provide multiple additional embodiments of the present disclosure. The proportions and relative sizes of the elements provided in the drawings are intended to illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be limiting.

[0015] The figures herein follow the following numbering convention: one or more first digits correspond to the figure number, and the remaining digits identify the element or component in the figure. Similar elements or components between different figures can be identified by using similar numerals. For example, 102 can be referenced to Figure 1 Component "02" in , and Figure 2 Similar elements in can be indexed as 202.

[0016] As used herein, "a" or "a number of" things may refer to one or more such things, and "a number of" things may refer to more than one such things. For example, "a number of components" may refer to one or more components, and "a number of components" may refer to more than one component.

[0017] Figure 1 A system 100 for determining thermal runaway of a battery for an electric vehicle (eg, vehicle 104) is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 In the example shown, the electric vehicle 104 is an electric car (e.g., a sedan). However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the electric vehicle 104 may be an electric truck, an electric bus, an electric motorcycle, an electric bicycle, an electric drone, or any other type of electric vehicle for transporting people and / or goods. Although not shown in the figure for simplicity and to avoid confusing embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 1 1 , but electric vehicle 104 may include (eg, use) an electric motor for propulsion (eg, in conjunction with or in place of a gasoline-powered engine).

[0018] like Figure 1 As shown, the electric vehicle 104 may include a rechargeable battery 106. The battery 106 may be used to power an electric motor of the electric vehicle 104. The battery 106 may be, for example, a lithium (eg, lithium-ion) battery.

[0019] like Figure 1 As shown, the system 100 may include an electric vehicle charging station 102. The charging station 102 may be used to charge a battery 106 of an electric vehicle 104. For example, Figure 1 As shown, the battery 106 can be connected to the charging station 102 via the connector 110 (e.g., by inserting the connector 110 into the battery 106), and the charging station 102 can supply power to the battery 106 via the connector 110 to charge the battery 106. The charging station 102 can be, for example, an alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) charging station. The connector 110 can be any type of connector that is compatible with the battery 106 (e.g., capable of inserting the battery and supplying power to it).

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, the charging station 102 includes a thermal camera 108. The thermal camera 108 can determine (e.g., sense and / or measure) a change in the temperature of the battery 106 while it is being charged by the charging station 102. For example, the thermal camera 108 can determine the change in the temperature of the battery 106 by capturing a thermal image (e.g., a thermal signature) of the battery 106 while the charging station 102 is charging it.

[0021] The thermal camera 108 may determine (e.g., predict) whether thermal runaway will occur (e.g., before thermal runaway actually begins to occur) based on changes in the temperature of the battery 106 while it is being charged. For example, the thermal camera 108 may use a Kalman filter algorithm to determine whether the battery 106 will experience thermal runaway, as will be further described herein.

[0022] As used herein, thermal runaway may include and / or refer to a process in which an increase in temperature causes a release of energy, which in turn further increases the temperature, which further accelerates the release of energy. For example, when the temperature of the battery 106 increases to (e.g., reaches) a point that changes the condition of the battery 106 (e.g., causes the battery to undergo a chemical reaction), causing additional chemical reactions that generate more heat, the battery 106 may experience thermal runaway. This process may continue (e.g., accelerate) until the battery is damaged, catches fire, and / or explodes. Examples of thermal runaway that occur in a battery (e.g., battery 106) are further described herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 3 ).

[0023] For example, a temperature gradient associated with thermal runaway of a battery of an electric vehicle (e.g., battery 106 of electric vehicle 104) may be defined and stored in a processor of thermal camera 108, and then the thermal runaway may be modeled. The temperature gradient may be, for example, an amount (e.g., how much) of temperature change in the battery that is expected to cause (e.g., lead to) thermal runaway of the battery over a period of time. The temperature gradient may be a predefined temperature gradient. For example, the temperature gradient may be defined before charging station 102 is used to charge a battery of an electric vehicle (e.g., during manufacturing of charging station 102).

[0024] A model of the change in temperature of the battery 106 while the battery 106 is being charged can be generated from the thermal camera 108 data. Then, using a Kalman filter algorithm (e.g., by inputting the temperature change determined by the thermal camera 108 into the Kalman filter algorithm), a temperature gradient for thermal runaway can be defined.

[0025] The thermal camera 108 may determine whether the battery 106 is about to experience thermal runaway based on a model of the change in temperature of the battery 106. For example, the thermal camera 108 may compare the change in temperature of the battery 106 (e.g., the model of the change in temperature of the battery) to a temperature gradient, and determine whether the battery 106 is about to experience thermal runaway based on the comparison result. For example, the thermal camera 108 may determine whether the change in temperature of the battery 106 while being charged is outside the temperature gradient (e.g., not within the temperature gradient) based on the comparison result (e.g., whether the temperature of the battery changes too much in too short a period of time), and determine whether the battery 106 is about to experience thermal runaway based on whether the change in temperature of the battery 106 while being charged is outside the temperature gradient. If the comparison result indicates that the change in temperature of the battery 106 while being charged (e.g., the model of the change in temperature) is outside the temperature gradient, the thermal camera 108 may determine that the battery 106 is about to experience thermal runaway. If the comparison indicates that the change in temperature of battery 106 while being charged (eg, a pattern of the change in temperature) is not outside the temperature gradient (eg, within the temperature gradient), thermal camera 108 may determine that battery 106 will not experience thermal runaway.

[0026] When the thermal camera 108 determines that the battery 106 is about to experience thermal runaway, the charging station 102 may provide an indication that thermal runaway is about to occur. For example, the charging station 102 may display the indication on a user interface of the charging station 102. As an additional example, the charging station 102 may provide an indication by generating an alarm when it is determined that thermal runaway is about to occur. The alarm may be, for example, an audio (e.g., voice) alarm emitted by the charging station 102, or a visual alarm (e.g., a warning light illuminated on the charging station 102). As an additional example, the charging station 102 may shut down (e.g., stop providing power to the battery 106) when it is determined that the battery 106 is about to experience thermal runaway. Thus, the charging station 102 may provide an indication and / or shut down before thermal runaway has occurred (e.g., has begun to occur) with the battery 106.

[0027] In some embodiments, the charging station 102 may use machine learning during its operation (e.g., charging the battery of an electric vehicle) to determine (e.g., learn) what temperature changes of the battery cause thermal runaway, and what temperature changes of the battery do not cause thermal runaway, and adjust (e.g., update) the temperature gradient accordingly. For example, the charging station 102 may adjust the temperature gradient based on whether the change in the temperature of the battery 106 determined by the thermal camera 108 has caused thermal runaway to occur. For example, if the change in the temperature of the battery 106 causes thermal runaway to occur, the charging station 102 may adjust the temperature gradient to include the change in temperature. If the change in the temperature of the battery 106 does not cause thermal runaway to occur, the charging station 102 may adjust the temperature gradient to not include the change in temperature.

[0028] The charging station 102 may utilize the adjusted (e.g., updated) temperature gradient to determine whether a battery subsequently charged by the charging station 102 will experience thermal runaway. For example, the thermal camera 108 may determine a change in the temperature of a battery of an additional electric vehicle (e.g., an electric vehicle whose battery is being charged by the charging station 102 after the battery 106 of the electric vehicle 104 has been charged) while being charged by the charging station 102 in a manner similar to that previously described for the battery 106. The Kalman filter in the thermal camera 108 may generate a model of the change in the temperature of the battery of the additional electric vehicle in a manner similar to that previously described for the battery 106. The thermal camera 108 may compare the change in the temperature of the battery of the additional electric vehicle (e.g., the model of the change in the temperature of the battery) to the adjusted temperature gradient, and based on the comparison with the adjusted temperature gradient, determine whether the battery of the additional electric vehicle will experience thermal runaway in a manner similar to that previously described for the battery 106. Upon determining that thermal runaway is imminent in the battery of the attached electric vehicle, charging station 102 may provide an indication of impending thermal runaway and / or shut down in a manner similar to that previously described for battery 106 .

[0029] Figure 2 202 is a block diagram of an electric vehicle charging station 202 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The charging station 202 may be, for example, a previously combined Figure 1 For example, the charging station 202 may include a thermal camera 208, which may be similar to the thermal camera previously described in conjunction with Figure 1 Thermal camera 108 as described herein. As previously described herein, thermal camera 208 may determine (eg, predict) whether a battery of an electric vehicle being charged by charging station 202 will experience thermal runaway based on changes in temperature of the battery while being charged.

[0030] like Figure 2 As shown, the thermal camera 208 may include a memory 214 and a processor 216. The memory 214 may be any type of storage medium that can be accessed by the processor 216 to perform various examples of the present disclosure. For example, the memory 214 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions (e.g., computer program instructions) stored thereon, which may be executed by the processor 216 for determining thermal runaway according to the present disclosure. In addition, the memory 214 may store a temperature gradient associated with thermal runaway of a battery of an electric vehicle, which may be used to determine thermal runaway, as previously described herein.

[0031] The memory 214 may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The memory 214 may also be a removable (e.g., portable) memory or a non-removable (e.g., internal) memory. For example, the memory 214 may be a random access memory (RAM) (e.g., a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a phase change random access memory (PCRAM)), a read-only memory (ROM) (e.g., an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and / or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)), a flash memory, a laser disc, a digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage device and / or a magnetic medium (such as a cassette, a tape, or a disk), and other types of memory.

[0032] Additionally, although the memory 214 is shown as being located within the thermal camera 208, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the memory 214 may also be located within another computing resource (eg, the thermal camera processor 216).

[0033] like Figure 2 As shown, the charging station 202 may include a user interface 218. A user (e.g., an operator) of the charging station 202 may interact with the charging station 202 via the user interface 218. For example, the user interface 218 may provide (e.g., display and / or present) information to the user of the charging station 202 and / or receive information from the user (e.g., input) of the charging station 202. For example, in some embodiments, the user interface 218 may be a graphical user interface (GUI) that may provide information to the user of the charging station 202 and / or receive information from the user of the charging station, such as an indication that a battery of an electric vehicle being charged by the charging station 202 will experience thermal runaway, as previously described herein. The display may be, for example, a touch screen (e.g., the GUI may include touch screen functionality). Alternatively, the display may include a television, a computer monitor, a mobile device screen, other types of display devices, or any combination thereof that are connected to the charging station 202 and configured to receive a video signal output from the charging station 202.

[0034] The user interface 218 can be localized into any language. For example, the user interface 218 can display information in any language, such as English, Spanish, German, French, Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Hindi, etc.

[0035] Figure 3 330 is a graph showing an example of thermal changes that occur in a battery of an electric vehicle leading to thermal runaway. The battery may be, for example, a battery previously combined with Figure 1 A battery 106 of an electric vehicle 104 is depicted. For example, the battery may be a lithium (eg, lithium-ion) battery.

[0036] like Figure 3 As shown, graph 330 includes temperature curve 332. Temperature curve 332 represents the temperature of the battery when it is being charged (e.g., by an electric vehicle charging station, such as previously described in conjunction with Figure 1 The electric vehicle charging station 102 is depicted as a battery that has a temperature that varies over time (eg, a change in temperature).

[0037] For example, the battery Figure 3 Charging starts at time t0 shown. Figure 3 At the time t1 shown, the temperature of the battery has risen to (for example, reached) 70 degrees Celsius. Figure 3 At this point, the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) of the battery may begin to decompose, and as the battery continues to charge, the rate at which the battery's temperature rises may begin to accelerate, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 3 shown.

[0038] exist Figure 3 At time t2, the battery temperature has risen to 110 degrees Celsius. Figure 3 At this point, the battery's electrolyte solvent may begin to react with the battery's negative electrode (e.g., anode), and as the battery continues to charge, the rate at which the battery's temperature rises may further accelerate, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 as shown in .

[0039] exist Figure 3 At time t3, the battery temperature has risen to 130 degrees Celsius. Figure 3 At this point, the battery's separator (e.g., a mechanism that prevents the positive and negative electrodes of the battery from short-circuiting) may begin to melt, and as the battery continues to charge, the rate at which the battery's temperature rises may further accelerate, as shown. Figure 3 shown.

[0040] exist Figure 3 At time t4, the battery temperature has risen to 150 degrees Celsius. Figure 3 At this point, the battery's electrolyte solvent may begin to decompose, and as the battery continues to charge, the rate at which the battery's temperature rises may further accelerate, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 3 shown.

[0041] exist Figure 3 At time t5, the battery temperature has risen to 300 degrees. Figure 3 At this point, the electrolyte solvent of the battery may begin to react with the positive electrode (e.g., cathode) of the battery, and thermal runaway will occur. That is, point 334 on temperature curve 330 is at Figure 3 The point at which thermal runaway begins to occur after the temperature variation window from t0 to t5 is shown.

[0042] However, embodiments of the present disclosure can prevent this from happening. Figure 3 For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may determine (eg, predict) whether thermal runaway of a battery for an electric vehicle being charged will occur before it actually begins to occur, as previously described herein.

[0043] Although specific implementations have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same technique may be substituted for the specific implementations shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all modifications or variations of various implementations of the present disclosure.

[0044] It should be understood that the above description is given in an illustrative rather than limiting manner.By reading the above description, combinations of the above embodiments, as well as other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0045] The scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure includes any other applications using the above-described structures and methods.The scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure should therefore be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

[0046] In the above detailed description, various features are grouped together in the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings for the purpose of simplifying the disclosure. This method of disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the embodiments of the present disclosure require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.

[0047] Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle charging station (102, 202), comprising: A thermal camera (108, 208), the thermal camera being configured to: determining a change in temperature of a battery (106) of an electric vehicle (104) while the battery (106) is being charged at the electric vehicle charging station (102, 202); and determining whether thermal runaway will occur in the battery (106) based on the change in the temperature of the battery (106) while the battery (106) is being charged; and The electric vehicle charging station (102, 202) is configured to provide an indication when the thermal camera (108, 208) determines that the battery (106) is about to experience thermal runaway.

2. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 1, wherein: The thermal camera is configured to determine whether the battery is about to experience thermal runaway by: generating a model of the variation in the temperature of the battery while the battery is being charged; as well as The model of the change in the temperature of the battery while the battery is being charged is compared to a temperature gradient associated with thermal runaway of a battery of an electric vehicle.

3. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 2, wherein: The temperature gradient is a predefined temperature gradient.

4. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 2, wherein: The temperature gradient is an adjusted temperature gradient.

5. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 2, wherein: The thermal camera is configured to determine that the battery will experience thermal runaway when a comparison indicates that the model of the variation in the temperature of the battery while the battery is being charged is outside the temperature gradient.

6. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 2, wherein: The thermal camera is configured to determine that the battery will not experience thermal runaway when the comparison indicates that the model of the variation in the temperature of the battery while the battery is being charged is not outside the temperature gradient.

7. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 1, wherein: The thermal camera is configured to use a Kalman filter algorithm to determine if the battery is about to experience thermal runaway.

8. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 1, wherein: The thermal camera is configured to determine the change in the temperature of the battery by capturing a thermal image of the battery while the electric vehicle charging station is charging the battery.

9. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein: Providing the indication includes generating an alarm when the thermal camera determines that the battery is about to experience thermal runaway.

10. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein: The electric vehicle charging station is configured to provide the indication before thermal runaway of the battery occurs.

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