Three-dimensional shock detection using knock sensors and tuning forks

Abstract

A vibration detection system for a battery pack of an electric vehicle, where the vibration detection system uses at least one passive sensor, such as a knock sensor, for vibration detection. The sensor has a greater degree of design freedom both inside or outside the battery pack and is connected to a system for data processing and data analysis. In addition to a tap sensor, the shock detection system also includes tuning forks located on the battery pack, where each tuning fork has a particular resonant frequency. During operation, when the battery pack is shocked or impacted, each tuning fork resonates at a particular frequency, and a passive tap sensor detects these frequencies. The knock sensor then sends these spectrums to the ECU of the electric vehicle, which then determines the amplitudes of the different frequencies and uses triangulation to calculate the intensity and location of the impact.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application 63 / 603,259, filed on November 28, 2023. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention generally relates to a vibration detection system for detecting an impact on a battery pack of an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle. Background Art

[0003] Various design features have been implemented in electric vehicles to provide an alert when a battery pack of the electric vehicle fails. Some designs include pressure and / or temperature sensors to detect battery runaway. However, many current designs do not include the ability to detect impact / vibration or protect against impact / vibration. Some battery packs are designed to resist vibration, but any type of battery damage can lead to a fire or a vehicle malfunction.

[0004] Moreover, current sensor designs for battery packs are not capable of detecting the severity and location of deformation or damage. Damage can occur at any location in the battery pack and is not always detectable.

[0005] Many current designs also have limitations in terms of sealing flexibility, which results in limitations in the flow path design and efficiency of the battery cooling system.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need for the ability to detect an impact or vibration on a battery pack of an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In an embodiment, the present invention is a vibration detection system having a vibration sensor for a battery pack of an electric vehicle, wherein the vibration detection system uses at least one passive sensor for vibration detection, such as a knock sensor. The sensor has a large degree of design freedom both inside and outside the battery pack and is connected to, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle for data processing and data analysis. In addition to the knock sensor, the vibration detection system of the present invention further includes a plurality of tuning forks located on the battery pack, wherein each tuning fork has a specific resonance frequency.

[0008] During operation, when the battery pack is subjected to vibration or impact, each tuning fork resonates at a specific frequency, and the passive knock sensor detects these frequencies in addition to detecting the initial vibration or impact. Subsequently, the knock sensor sends these spectra to the ECU of the electric vehicle, and then the ECU determines the amplitudes of different frequencies and uses triangulation to calculate the intensity and location of the impact. In an embodiment, the ECU is programmed to evaluate the severity of the impact / vibration and notify the driver.

[0009] In an embodiment, the vibration detection system of the present invention includes at least one sensor for precisely triangulating the impact. The vibration detection system of the present invention is robust, maintenance-free, and has low power consumption.

[0010] In an embodiment, the vibration detection system of the present invention is capable of detecting when a vehicle is idling or in motion. Additionally, the vibration detection system of the present invention provides an alarm regarding when a battery pack may be damaged, and the damage to the battery pack can pose a danger to the passengers of the vehicle.

[0011] The alarm provided by the vibration detection system of the present invention may provide an improved response time so that any fire can be extinguished earlier and the fire damage to the surrounding buildings or nearby vehicles can be mitigated. The driver / passenger may also be warned to evacuate the vehicle before being exposed to the fire hazard.

[0012] The present invention is not limited to being used with impact sensors, but may be used with other types of sensors, such as MEMS sensors, capacitive sensors, or other types of sensors.

[0013] In an embodiment, the present invention is a vibration detection system that includes a sensor assembly having at least one sensor mounted to a battery pack and a control unit in electrical communication with the sensor. A plurality of resonators are mounted to the battery pack. When the battery pack is impacted, one or more of the plurality of resonators generate one or more of a plurality of signals, and one or more of the plurality of signals are transmitted to the sensor, and the signals received by the sensor are transmitted to the control unit such that the control unit transmits one or more of the signals to the vehicle's ECU.

[0014] In an embodiment, each resonator is a tuning fork. In an embodiment, two of the plurality of resonators are located on opposite sides of the battery pack. The position of each tuning fork aids in the triangulation of the location of the impact.

[0015] In an embodiment, the sensor and each resonator are located on the bottom surface of the battery pack. However, the present invention is not limited to the sensor and each resonator being exclusively located on the bottom surface of the battery pack. The sensor and / or one or more resonators may also be located on a combination of the bottom surface and one or more side surfaces or top surfaces of the battery pack.

[0016] In an embodiment, the sensor is a MEMS sensor. In another embodiment, the sensor is a capacitive sensor.

[0017] Further application areas of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided below. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, although indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The present invention will be more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a battery pack having a vibration detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a battery pack of an alternative embodiment having a vibration detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3A is a schematic diagram of a battery pack of another alternative embodiment having a vibration detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3B is according to an embodiment of the present invention having Figure 3A a schematic diagram of a battery pack of an embodiment of the vibration detection system shown in, but the vibration detection system is rotated so that the bottom surface faces up. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following description of the preferred embodiment is merely exemplary and in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

[0024] In Figure 1 a battery pack of an electric vehicle having a vibration detection system according to the present invention is shown at 10. At least one sensor assembly is mounted to the battery pack 10, and the sensor assembly is generally shown at 12. In this embodiment, the sensor assembly 12 includes a knock sensor 14 and a control unit 16. The knock sensor 14 and the control unit 16 are mounted on a first surface or outer top surface 22 of the battery pack 10. The control unit 16 is in electrical communication with an electronic control unit (ECU) 18 of the vehicle.

[0025] A plurality of resonators 20a, 20b, 20c are also mounted to the battery pack 10. In the embodiment shown, each of the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c is a tuning fork, but it is within the scope of the present invention that other types of resonators may be used. Each of the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c is located in a different area of the outer top surface 22 of the battery pack 10. As Figure 1 shown, the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c are spaced apart from each other by a certain distance and from the sensor assembly 12 by a certain distance. Each of the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c generates a specific signal 24a, 24b, 24c, and the knock sensor 14 receives one or more of the signals 24a, 24b, 24c.

[0026] During operation, if the battery pack 10 is subjected to an impact, one or more of the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c generate corresponding signals 24a, 24b, 24c. The intensities of the signals 24a, 24b, 24c may vary according to the amplitude of the impact on the battery pack 10. The signals 24a, 24b, 24c are received by the knock sensor 14, and subsequently the control unit 16 sends the signals 24a, 24b, 24c to the ECU 18, which interprets the signals 24a, 24b, 24c and calculates the amplitude of the impact. Due to the use of three resonators 20a, 20b, 20c, the ECU 18 is able to detect and calculate the amplitude of the impact and triangulate the location of the impact.

[0027] In some embodiments, the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c may be located on the outer surface of the battery pack 10, the outer surfaces being on opposite sides of the battery pack 10 relative to each other, thereby allowing vibration detection within a three-dimensional volume.

[0028] In Figure 2 an example of an alternative embodiment shown, any two of the plurality of resonators 20a, 20b, 20c, or any combination of the knock sensor 14 and one of the plurality of resonators 20a, 20b, 20c, may be located on opposite sides of the battery pack 10. More specifically, as Figure 2 shown, the sensor assembly 12 and the first resonator 20a are located on the first side 26a, while the second resonator 20b and the third resonator 20c are located on the second side 26b, where the sides 26a, 26b are on opposite sides of the battery pack 10 relative to each other.

[0029] In another alternative embodiment, the sensor assembly 12 and one or more of the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c may be located on opposite sides of the battery pack 10.

[0030] Referring Figure 3A and Figure 3B , another embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the same numerals represent the same elements. In this embodiment, the knock sensor 14 and the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c are located on the bottom surface 28 of the battery pack 10. In other embodiments, within the scope of the present invention, the sensor assembly 12 and / or one or more of the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c may also be located on a combination of the bottom surface 28 of the battery pack 10 and one or more of the side surfaces 26a, 26b, 26c, 26d or the outer top surface 22.

[0031] One or more of the impact sensors 14 and the resonators 20a, 20b, 20c may be located on various outer surfaces of the battery pack 10 to facilitate detection of an impact on the battery pack 10 while meeting various packaging requirements.

[0032] The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature, and thus variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to fall within the scope of the invention. Such variations should not be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A device comprising: A vibration detection system, the vibration detection system comprising: at least one sensor mounted to the battery pack; and at least one resonator mounted to the battery pack; When the battery pack is impacted, at least one resonator generates a signal, and the signal is transmitted to at least one sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one resonator further comprises: a plurality of resonators mounted to the battery pack; When the battery pack is impacted, one or more of the plurality of resonators generates one or more of the plurality of signals, and the one or more of the plurality of signals is transmitted to at least one sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of resonators further comprises a tuning fork.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the position of each tuning fork helps triangulate the position of the impact.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein two of the plurality of resonators are located on opposite sides of the battery pack.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one sensor and each of the plurality of resonators are located on a bottom surface of the battery pack.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprises: a control unit in communication with at least one sensor; The signal received by the at least one sensor is transmitted to a control unit so that the control unit transmits the signal to an ECU of the vehicle. 8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , the at least one sensor further comprising one selected from the group consisting of a MEMS sensor and a capacitive sensor.

9. A vibration detection system, comprising: The sensor assembly further comprises: at least one sensor mounted to the battery pack; a control unit in electrical communication with the at least one sensor; and a plurality of resonators mounted to the battery pack; When the battery pack is impacted, one or more of the multiple resonators generate one or more of the multiple signals, and one or more of the multiple signals are transmitted to at least one sensor, and one or more of the multiple signals received by the at least one sensor are transmitted to a control unit, so that the control unit transmits one or more of the multiple signals to an ECU of the vehicle.

10. The shock detection system of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of resonators further comprises a tuning fork.

11. The shock detection system of claim 10, wherein the position of each tuning fork helps triangulate the location of the impact.

12. The shock detection system of claim 9, wherein two of the plurality of resonators are located on opposite sides of the battery pack.

13. The shock detection system of claim 9, wherein the at least one sensor and each of the plurality of resonators are located on a bottom surface of the battery pack.

14. The shock detection system of claim 9, the at least one sensor further comprising one selected from the group consisting of a MEMS sensor and a capacitive sensor.

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