Battery Array Spare Relay for Faulty Cell Bypass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vehicles (EVs) equipped with battery arrays face operational disruptions due to faulty batteries, leading to unexpected vehicle stops, posing safety risks to drivers, as current systems lack the ability to automatically replace faulty batteries while in motion.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method utilizing a charged spare battery, relay switches, and a battery fault handler module to automatically disconnect faulty batteries and connect a spare battery in series, ensuring continuous power delivery to the vehicle's electric motor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a battery disconnect system is implemented to enhance safety, then the vehicle can be protected from electrical hazards, but the vehicle will stop operation when a battery fault occurs
Solution Approach 1:
A spare battery is pre-positioned and pre-charged within the battery array, ready to immediately replace a faulty battery without requiring vehicle shutdown or external intervention. This preliminary preparation enables continuous operation by having a standby component already in place.
Solution Approach 2:
A switching mechanism acts as an intermediary between the faulty battery and the spare battery, enabling automatic redirection of electrical current from the failed component to the standby component. This mediator allows seamless transition without interrupting the overall system operation.
2Reliability
If traditional battery fault response is used, then faulty batteries are disconnected for safety, but the vehicle becomes stranded and drivers are placed in unsafe situations
Solution Approach 1:
The battery array performs self-repair by automatically detecting a faulty battery, isolating it, and replacing it with a spare battery from within the same array. This self-service capability eliminates the need for external assistance or towing, allowing the vehicle to continue operation independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards the faulty battery by disconnecting it from the circuit and recovers continuity by connecting the spare battery in its place. This process maintains system functionality while removing the harmful component.
3Power
If battery arrays are designed with multiple batteries in series, then the required voltage is achieved, but a single faulty battery disrupts the entire series circuit
Solution Approach 1:
The battery array is segmented into multiple independent battery units, each with its own switching mechanism. This segmentation allows individual batteries to be isolated without affecting the others, enabling selective replacement of faulty units while maintaining the series configuration of remaining batteries.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the electrical configuration by switching connections from a faulty battery to a spare battery, maintaining the required voltage parameter despite component failure. The switching mechanism alters the circuit topology to preserve the series connection integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for automatically displacing a faulty in-use member battery in an electric equipment, such as electric vehicle, powered by an array of member batteries configured to self detect battery fault conditions and output a control signal upon such detection. By use of a charged spare battery and deactivated single pole double throw relay switches with activation means for coupling all batteries, member batteries are normally interconnected in series electrically to provide a predetermined voltage, with the spare battery standing by. While the electric equipment is in operation, as soon as a member battery detects a fault, the corresponding relay switch is activated to cause the faulty member battery to be electrically bypassed by the battery array. Concurrently, the spare relay switch is activated to electrically connect the spare battery to the battery array in series, thereby displacing the faulty in-use member battery.