Battery device and method for suppressing combustion thereof

Abstract

To provide a battery device and a method for suppressing combustion thereof which can effectively reduce the possibility that apparatuses or persons in outside spaces are damaged after combustion.SOLUTION: A battery device 100 includes a housing 110, a cell module 120, a catalytic converter 130. The housing 110 has an inner space 111. The cell module 120 is arranged in the inner space 111. The catalytic converter 130 is arranged in the inner space 111 and divides the cell module 120 from an outside space 10 from the inner space 111. There is also provided a method for suppressing combustion of the battery device 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery device and a method for suppressing combustion thereof.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, when a battery fails, the battery may catch fire and generate flames and high-concentration combustible gases (such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), etc.). If the battery cannot be effectively controlled, it is likely to have an adverse effect on the devices around the battery and may also cause concerns about the safety of people around the battery.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] The present invention provides a battery device and a method for suppressing combustion thereof, which can effectively reduce the possibility of damage to devices and personnel in the external space after combustion.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] The battery device of the present invention includes a housing, a cell module, and a catalytic converter. The housing has an internal space. The cell module is disposed in the internal space. The catalytic converter is disposed in the internal space and partitions the cell module from the external space with respect to the internal space.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present invention, the catalytic converter includes a cubic pore structure or a honeycomb pore structure.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the catalytic converter includes a binary catalyst or a ternary catalyst.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the material of the catalytic converter includes a ceramic coated with a noble metal.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the cell module includes a lithium ternary cell module or a lithium iron phosphate cell module.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the housing has an inlet end and an outlet end. The catalytic converter includes a first catalytic converter and a second catalytic converter. The first catalytic converter is disposed between the cell module and the inlet end, and the second catalytic converter is disposed between the cell module and the outlet end.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first catalytic converter is in direct contact with the housing on both sides thereof, and the second catalytic converter is in direct contact with the housing on both sides thereof, forming a sealed space surrounding the cell module.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the housing has no opening. The catalytic converter has a closed-loop structure and forms a sealed space surrounding the cell module.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the catalytic converter does not contact the housing.

[0013] The method for suppressing combustion of the battery device of the present invention includes at least the following steps. Flames and combustible gases are generated by the operation of the battery device, where the battery device includes a housing, a cell module, and a catalytic converter. The housing has an internal space. The cell module is disposed in the internal space. The catalytic converter is disposed in the internal space and partitions the cell module from the external space with respect to the internal space. The flames and combustible gases pass through the catalytic converter.

Advantages of the Invention

[0014] Based on the above, the catalytic converter in the battery device of the present invention can function simultaneously as a flame arrestment element and a gas conversion element. In this way, the flame and combustible gas generated by the combustion of the cell module can be effectively controlled to achieve a suppression effect, thereby effectively reducing the possibility of damage to equipment and personnel in the external space after combustion.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] In the following detailed description, for purposes of illustration and not limitation, exemplary embodiments are described to provide a complete understanding of the various principles of the present invention by disclosing specific details. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure that the present invention can be practiced in other embodiments without departing from the specific details disclosed herein. Further, descriptions of well-known devices, methods, and materials may be omitted so as not to obscure the various principles of the present invention.

[0017] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described herein. The thickness, size, or dimensions of layers or regions in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity. The same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar components and will not be repeated one by one in the following paragraphs.

[0018] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a battery device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic diagram of the catalytic converter of FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery device 100 of this embodiment includes a housing 110, a cell module 12, and a catalytic converter 130. Here, the housing 110 has an internal space 111, and the cell module 120 is disposed in the internal space 111. Further, the catalytic converter 130 is disposed in the internal space 111 and partitions the cell module 120 from the external space 10 with respect to the internal space 111. Therefore, the catalytic converter 130 in the battery device 100 of this embodiment can function simultaneously as a flame blocking element and a gas conversion element. In this way, the flame and the combustible gas 120 (as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1) generated by the combustion of the cell module can be effectively controlled to achieve a suppression effect, and the risk of damage to the equipment and personnel (not shown) in the external space 10 after combustion can be effectively reduced. Here, the internal space 111 and the external space 10 are physically partitioned from the housing 110.

[0020] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the catalytic converter 130 may have a porous structure with a plurality of pores 132 formed on a substrate 131, and the surface of the pores 132 is coated with a noble metal as a catalyst. In this way, when the flame passes through the catalytic converter 130, the structure of the flame is destroyed, causing the air flow to become discontinuous, thereby weakening the fire intensity or extinguishing the flame. Therefore, it can be used as a flame blocking element. On the other hand, when the combustible gas passes through the catalytic converter 130, the combustible gas generated by the internal chemical reaction can be converted using the catalytic mechanism. For example, hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) can be converted into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O), reducing the concentration of the combustible gas and preventing the spread of fire. Therefore, it can be used as a gas conversion element. In this way, the catalytic converter 130 can suppress combustion in many aspects (such as physical barriers and chemical catalytic effects), and the water generated in the process can also achieve the cooling effect of the internal space 111.

[0021] In some embodiments, the catalytic converter 130 has a cubic pore structure as shown in FIG. 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The catalytic converter 130 may have a porous structure formed in a honeycomb pore structure or other suitable shape.

[0022] In some embodiments, the catalytic converter 130 is a binary catalyst (oxidation catalyst) or a three-way catalyst. These materials can be obtained through any repurification process known to those skilled in the art by recycling the discarded catalytic converters installed in the exhaust systems of automobiles and motorcycles. Therefore, the catalytic converter 130 can be regarded as a recycled catalyst. In this way, the battery device 100 using the recycled catalyst can further have an environmental protection effect, but the present invention does not limit the specific material composition and structure of the catalytic converter 130. That is, it can be determined based on the actually discarded catalytic converter collected from the exhaust systems of automobiles and motorcycles or the actual design application. As long as the cell module 120 and the external space 10 can be separated to achieve the functions of flame blocking and gas conversion, it is included in the protection scope of the present invention.

[0023] For example, the material of the catalytic converter 130 includes ceramics coated with noble metals. The ceramics include silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, or a combination thereof. The noble metals include palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), rhodium (Rh), or a combination thereof. The ceramics can be used as a carrier, and the noble metals can be used as active catalysts. For example, platinum and palladium are oxidation catalysts, and rhodium is a reduction catalyst that effectively converts combustible gases, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Other suitable materials that are porous and can convert combustible gases can be used for the catalytic converter 130.

[0024] In some embodiments, the cell module 120 is a module composed of a plurality of cells connected in series, and the cell module 120 may be of a type prone to internal combustion. For example, the cell module 120 includes, but is not limited to, a lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide cell module or a lithium iron phosphate cell module. The cell module 120 may also be other batteries or electrical energy storage devices with the risk of combustion (possibility of thermal runaway). Furthermore, the housing 110 can be selected according to the needs of actual applications. It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the number of series-connected cells in the cell module. For example, FIG. 1 schematically shows that the cell module 120 includes 8 cells, and FIG. 3 schematically shows that the cell module 220 includes 6 cells.

[0025] For example, in a lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide cell, the cathode material is a ternary polymer containing lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, lithium nickel cobalt aluminate, etc. Here, "ternary" refers to a polymer containing any three metal elements including nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum. Also, in a lithium iron phosphate cell, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) is used as the cathode material, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0026] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the housing 110 has an inlet end 112 and an outlet end 113, and the catalytic converter 130 includes a first catalytic converter 131 and a second catalytic converter 132. Here, the first catalytic converter 131 is disposed between the cell module 120 and the inlet end 112, and the second catalytic converter 132 is disposed between the cell module 120 and the outlet end 113. Since the air flow flows in the direction of low pressure, the generated flame and combustible gas are naturally driven to pass through the first catalytic converter 131 and the second catalytic converter 132 at the inlet end 112 and the outlet end 113, thereby obtaining the effects of flame suppression and gas conversion.

[0027] In some embodiments, to effectively prevent flames from leaking through the gaps of the housing 110 connected to the outside world, the first catalytic converter 131 is in direct contact with both sides of the housing 110, and the second catalytic converter 132 is in direct contact with both sides of the housing 110 to form a sealed space 20 surrounding the cell module 120. Here, the volume of the sealed space 20 is smaller than the volume of the internal space 111, that is, the sealed space 20 is included in the internal space 111, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0028] In the following embodiments, some of the component numbers and contents of the embodiments are followed, and the same or similar elements are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and the description of the same technical content is omitted. For the parts where the description is omitted, the previous embodiments can be referred to, and the following embodiments will not be repeated.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 3, compared with the battery device 100 of FIG. 1, the housing 210 in the battery device 200 of the present embodiment does not have an opening (such as an external structure of a suitable mobile power source). Here, the catalytic converter 230 has a closed-loop structure and forms a sealed space 20 surrounding the cell module 220. Therefore, the catalytic converter 230 in the battery device 200 of the present embodiment can function as a flame-blocking element and a gas-converting element at the same time. In this way, the flames and combustible gases (indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2) generated by the combustion of the cell module 220 can be effectively controlled to achieve a suppression effect, and the risk of damage to the devices and personnel (not shown) in the external space 10 after combustion can be effectively reduced.

[0030] In the present embodiment, the catalytic converter 130 is not in contact with the housing 110. That is, the catalytic converter 130 is stored in the housing 110, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0031] In summary, the catalytic converter in the battery device of the present invention can function as a flame arrestment element and a gas conversion element at the same time. In this way, the flame and combustible gas generated by the combustion of the cell module can be effectively controlled to achieve a suppression effect, thereby effectively reducing the possibility that the equipment and personnel in the external space are damaged after combustion.

[0032] As described above, the present invention has been disclosed with reference to the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art can make some modifications and improvements within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Industrial Applicability

[0033] The battery device and combustion suppression method using the catalytic converter of the present invention can be used to reduce the possibility that the equipment and personnel in the external space are damaged after combustion.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0034] 10: External space 20: Enclosed space 100: Battery device 110: Housing 111: Internal space 112: Inlet end 113: Outlet end 120: Cell module 130: Catalytic converter 131: First catalytic converter 132: Second catalytic converter 200: Battery device 210: Housing 220: Cell module 230: Catalytic converter

Claims

1. A housing having an internal space; A cell module disposed in the internal space; a catalytic converter disposed in the interior space and separating the cell module from an exterior space relative to the interior space; A battery device comprising:

2. The catalytic converter comprises a cubic pore structure or a honeycomb pore structure. The battery device according to claim 1 .

3. The catalytic converter includes a two-way catalyst or a three-way catalyst. The battery device according to claim 1 .

4. The catalytic converter material includes a ceramic coated with a precious metal. The battery device according to claim 1 .

5. The cell module includes a lithium ternary cell module or a lithium iron phosphate cell module; The battery device according to claim 1 .

6. The housing has an inlet end and an outlet end; the catalytic converter includes a first catalytic converter and a second catalytic converter; the first catalytic converter is disposed between the cell module and the inlet end, and the second catalytic converter is disposed between the cell module and the outlet end. The battery device according to claim 1 .

7. the first catalytic converter is in direct contact with the housing on both sides thereof, and the second catalytic converter is in direct contact with the housing on both sides thereof to form a sealed space surrounding the cell module; The battery device according to claim 6.

8. the housing has no opening, and the catalytic converter has a closed ring structure, thereby forming an enclosed space surrounding the cell module; The battery device according to claim 1 .

9. The catalytic converter does not contact the housing. The battery device according to claim 8.

10. A method for suppressing combustion in a battery device, the method comprising: The battery device includes: A housing having an internal space; A cell module disposed in the internal space; a catalytic converter disposed in the interior space and separating the cell module from an exterior space relative to the interior space; Including, the flame and the combustible gases pass through the catalytic converter; A method for suppressing combustion in a battery device.

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