Battery Module Outer Casing With External Gas Adsorption Venting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery modules face safety concerns due to untreated gas leakage and heat risks from adsorbents located near battery cells, and direct gas discharge without treatment.
Innovation Solution
An outer casing design featuring a housing for batteries, a gas adsorbing unit outside the housing with an adsorbent to adsorb generated gases, and a valve to discharge treated gases outside, ensuring efficient gas adsorption and safe disposal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If gas is discharged directly from the battery housing without treatment, then the internal pressure is relieved quickly, but harmful gas leaks to the environment and causes safety issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gas treatment unit as an intermediary component between the battery housing and the external environment. This unit includes an adsorbent that captures harmful gases generated during battery operation, preventing them from leaking directly into the environment. The gas treatment unit serves as a mediator that allows pressure relief while simultaneously removing harmful substances from the discharged gas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful gas byproduct of battery operation into a beneficial process by using the gas treatment unit to adsorb and neutralize the harmful substances. The system transforms the potentially dangerous gas leakage scenario into a controlled gas treatment process, where the harmful gas is captured and converted into safe emissions through the adsorbent material.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If an adsorbent is placed inside the battery housing to treat gas, then gas treatment is effective, but the adsorbent generates heat that poses a fire risk to the battery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the adsorbent from the battery housing and relocates it to a separate gas treatment unit positioned outside the housing. This separation removes the heat-generating adsorbent from proximity to the battery cells, eliminating the fire risk while preserving the gas treatment functionality. The extraction principle allows the system to maintain gas treatment effectiveness without the associated thermal hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the battery system into distinct functional segments: the battery housing containing the cells, and a separate gas treatment unit containing the adsorbent. This segmentation isolates the heat-generating gas treatment function from the temperature-sensitive battery components, allowing each component to operate in its optimal thermal environment without compromising safety or performance.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the gas adsorbing unit is placed outside the housing, then heat risk to battery is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the gas treatment unit with the existing exhaust valve system, integrating multiple functions into a unified structure. The gas treatment unit is designed to work in conjunction with the exhaust valve, merging the gas treatment functionality with the existing pressure relief mechanism. This integration reduces the number of separate components and simplifies the overall system architecture while maintaining the safety benefits of external adsorbent placement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the safety of battery modules by adsorbing and diluting gases before discharge, reducing the risk of leakage and heat-related issues, and improving the energy density per volume.
Implementation Method 1
a gas adsorbing unit disposed outside the housing, the gas adsorbing unit including an adsorbent that can adsorb a first gas generated inside the housing
Data Source
AI summary
An outer casing includes a housing configured to house a battery, a gas adsorbing unit disposed outside the housing and including an adsorbent that can adsorb a first gas generated inside the housing, and a first valve configured to discharge the first gas from the gas adsorbing unit to outside of the outer casing. The first valve may be connected to the gas adsorbing unit. A battery module includes the outer casing and a battery disposed in the housing of the outer casing.