Battery Electrolyte Creepage Sensor Using Conductive Circuit Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies fail to effectively detect electrolyte creepage in batteries without altering the manufacturing process or requiring additional electrical circuits, posing risks of electrical shorts and corrosion that can lead to severe damage.
Innovation Solution
A sensor element with a conductive material that changes electrical properties upon contact with electrolyte, integrated into existing electrical circuits, allowing detection of electrolyte creepage through conductivity or resistance variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an epoxy board with copper tracks is used to detect electrolyte creepage, then electrolyte detection capability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing complexity increase due to requiring a separate dedicated circuit inside the battery pack
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor element serves multiple functions: it acts as both a connection element for the monitoring system and a sensor for detecting electrolyte creepage. By making the connection element itself sensitive to electrolyte presence through material selection (corrosion-sensitive materials), the patent eliminates the need for separate dedicated detection circuits, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the connection function and sensing function into a single sensor element. The connection element that physically connects the monitoring system to battery terminals also serves as the sensing element, merging two previously separate functions into one integrated component
2Reliability
If an epoxy board with copper tracks is used to detect electrolyte creepage, then electrolyte detection capability is improved, but manufacturing precision and ease of manufacture worsen due to affecting battery manufacturing process
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor element is designed to be integrated into existing battery connections without requiring separate manufacturing processes. By using the same connection elements that are already part of the battery assembly process and selecting materials that respond to electrolyte, the patent enables detection capability without disrupting established manufacturing workflows
Solution Approach 2:
The connection element itself provides the sensing function through its material properties. The material's natural response to electrolyte exposure (corrosion or property change) provides the detection signal, eliminating the need for additional manufacturing steps or specialized components that would complicate production
3Measurement precision
If corrosion-sensitive conductor material is used for sensor element, then sensitivity to electrolyte creepage is improved, but durability and reliability worsen due to increased corrosion risk
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor element is designed to undergo controlled partial corrosion or property change only when exposed to electrolyte, rather than complete degradation. This allows the material to serve its dual function: maintaining structural integrity for normal operation while showing detectable changes specifically under electrolyte exposure conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses measurement circuits and signal processing as intermediaries to detect subtle changes in the conductor element's properties caused by electrolyte exposure. These intermediary systems amplify and interpret the minimal changes in electrical properties, allowing early detection before significant corrosion occurs, thus maintaining both sensitivity and durability
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 detection of electrolyte creepage before it propagates, preventing damage by integrating into existing circuits without modifying battery manufacturing or adding specific detection circuits.
Implementation Method 1
a electrical conductor element whose at least one electrical property varies when in contact with the electrolyte
Implementation Method 2
the one electrical property of the electrical conductor element varies with the corrosion due to the contact between said conductor element with the electrolyte
Data Source
AI summary
The invention deals with a sensor for sensing electrolyte creepage in a battery, a circuit comprising such sensor, and a battery connected to such circuit, with an application to an electrical circuit comprising the sensor and connecting a monitoring equipment to a to battery.The sensor element is adapted for being connected within an electrical circuit 1 connected to a battery 2, said battery comprising one or more electrochemical cells containing an electrolyte, wherein the sensor element comprises a electrical conductor element whose at least one electrical property varies when in contact with the electrolyte, such as to allow, when the sensor element is connected in a circuit, detection of an electrolyte creepage from a an electrochemical element of a battery 2 connected to the circuit 1 by measurement of the variation of the one electrical property of the conductor element.