Battery Cell Housing Integrated Switching for Dynamic Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional batteries lack the ability to be dynamically configured to meet varying power requests and voltage levels efficiently, leading to inefficiencies in energy use, heat management, and limited adaptability to defective cells.
Innovation Solution
A battery system with integrated switching elements and a control unit within each battery cell housing, allowing for dynamic interconnection and bypassing of cells to meet specific power and voltage demands, including adaptive control for charging, thermal management, and defect handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If battery modules are connected in series or parallel using external feedthroughs and switching devices, then the battery can be configured to meet different power requests, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the switching element directly inside the battery cell housing, nesting the switching functionality within the cell structure itself rather than using external feedthroughs and switching devices. This eliminates the need for separate external interconnection components while maintaining the ability to configure battery modules in series or parallel
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the switching element with the battery cell housing into a single integrated unit. The switching element is positioned within the housing and electrically connects the positive and negative terminals, merging the cell containment structure with the electrical switching function into one component
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple external switching devices are used to interconnect battery cells, then dynamic configuration is achieved, but the battery system requires more cabling and external components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the switching function from external components and places it directly inside the battery cell housing. This eliminates the need for external feedthroughs, separate switching devices, and extensive cabling, as the switching element becomes an integral part of the cell structure
Solution Approach 2:
The switching element is nested within the battery cell housing, with the housing serving as the container for both the galvanic cell and the switching element. This nesting eliminates the need for external mounting structures and reduces the overall component count
3Reliability
If battery cells are rigidly connected without bypass options, then the structure is simple, but the reliability decreases when cells become defective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic switching capability at the cell level, allowing the battery system to reconfigure its electrical connections in real-time. The switching element can dynamically connect or disconnect individual cells from the circuit, enabling the system to adapt to changing operational requirements and cell conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables change in the electrical configuration parameters of the battery by allowing individual cells to be switched in or out of the circuit. This parameter change capability allows the system to maintain operation even when some cells become defective, as the switching element can bypass problematic cells while maintaining the desired voltage and current characteristics
Data Source
AI summary
A battery and a method for operating a battery, in particular for a motor vehicle, including multiple battery cells, which have respective battery cell housings with electric terminals via which the battery cells are electrically interconnected, wherein a respective cell branch connecting the terminals and having a galvanic cell is arranged in the battery cell housings, a respective bypass branch for bypassing the respective galvanic cell is arranged in the battery cell housings; each cell branch has a first switching element for opening and closing the cell branch, and each bypass branch has a second switching element for opening and closing the bypass branch.