Battery Cell Position Sensing via Loop Antenna Phase Difference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery management systems cannot accurately determine the position of individual battery cells within a battery system, leading to unnecessary replacement of entire battery packs when a fault is detected, resulting in waste and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A method using near field radio coupling with an antenna configured as a loop to transmit signals of different frequencies in multiple directions, allowing the determination of a radio receiver's position based on the observed rate of change of phase difference, enabling precise location of faulty cells within the battery system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If battery management systems monitor voltage and current in every battery cell, then performance characteristics can be tracked and faults detected, but the position of faulty cells cannot be determined leading to unnecessary replacement of entire battery packs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces radio frequency tags and readers as intermediary devices to transmit and receive spatial position information. The tags are attached to battery cells and communicate with readers in the battery management system, enabling the system to determine the physical location of each cell without direct physical connection or complex wiring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical positioning methods (physical markers, complex wiring schemes) with electromagnetic field-based RFID technology. The radio frequency tags use electromagnetic fields to transmit position information wirelessly to the management system, eliminating the need for mechanical positioning infrastructure.
2Reliability
If the position of faulty cells cannot be determined, then entire battery packs must be replaced when faults are detected, but this results in waste of functional cells and increased costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables segmentation of the battery pack into individual addressable units by assigning unique position identifiers to each cell. When a fault is detected, the system can identify the specific cell position and isolate only that cell for replacement, rather than replacing the entire pack. This allows functional cells to be preserved and reused.
3Productivity
If traditional monitoring systems are used, then battery operation can be monitored, but precise location identification of individual cells within the system is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the monitoring parameters from purely electrical measurements (voltage, current) to include spatial position information. By incorporating radio frequency tag data, the system now tracks both the performance parameters and the physical location parameters of each battery cell, enabling precise identification and tracking.
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
Enables accurate identification and replacement of faulty battery cells, reducing waste and costs by pinpointing the location of faulty cells within the battery system, while also facilitating more efficient product recalls and quality assurance.
Implementation Method 1
A battery system includes an antenna configured as a loop and a plurality of radio receivers associated with battery cells in the system. The radio receivers are communicatively coupled with the antenna via near field radio coupling at different positions along the length of the antenna.
Implementation Method 2
The position of the radio receiver is then determined based on an observed rate of change of phase difference with frequency of signals transmitted in different directions around the antenna observed by the radio receiver.
Data Source
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AI summary
A battery system (200) comprising a plurality of battery cells (210) and a plurality of monitoring devices (215) for to monitoring characteristics of the plurality of battery cells (210) is disclosed wherein the plurality of monitoring devices (215) are communicatively coupled via a near field radio coupling with an antenna (260) configured as a loop. A controller (250) causes a radio manager (270) to transmit a plurality of signals of different frequencies in a first and then a second direction around the antenna (260). The controller (250) can then determine the position of a monitoring device (215) along the length of the antenna (260) based on an observed rate of change of phase difference of signals transmitted in different directions around the antenna (260) with frequency observed at the monitoring device (215).