Battery Failure Detection via Resistance Changes in Insulating Container
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery assembly failure detection methods for high-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries are inadequate in detecting leakage of active material in real-time, leading to potential delays in responding to failures due to reliance on depth of discharge measurements, which change gradually over time.
Innovation Solution
A battery assembly heat insulating container with a circuit member featuring lead wires in a comb teeth pattern, spread over the bottom of the container, and multiple insulating layers with holes to detect resistance changes caused by active material leakage, allowing for early and reliable detection of failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If depth of discharge measurement is used for failure detection, then the detection method is simple and easy to implement, but the detection accuracy is low and response is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the battery assembly into multiple blocks and further into individual battery cells, with detection circuits assigned to each block. This segmentation enables localized failure detection while maintaining system-wide monitoring, resolving the contradiction by providing both simplicity (block-level detection) and accuracy (cell-level identification) simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary detection circuit that measures voltage drops across specific resistors in each block to infer the state of individual battery cells. This intermediary measurement approach enables accurate failure detection without requiring direct complex measurements of each cell, thus maintaining ease of implementation while improving detection accuracy.
2Device complexity
If depth of discharge measurement is used for failure detection, then the apparatus is not complicated and production cost is reduced, but the response time to failure is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements preliminary monitoring of voltage drops across detection circuits for each block, establishing baseline measurements before failures occur. This preliminary action enables the system to detect deviations indicating failures immediately when they happen, rather than waiting for gradual depth of discharge changes, thus reducing response time while keeping apparatus complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention establishes a feedback mechanism where the detection circuit continuously monitors voltage drops and provides real-time information about the state of battery cells in each block. This feedback enables immediate response to failures by alerting the control system as soon as a voltage anomaly is detected, significantly reducing response time without substantially increasing apparatus complexity.
3Device complexity
If block-level failure detection is used instead of cell-level detection, then the apparatus complexity is reduced and production cost is lowered, but the ability to detect specific failed cells is diminished
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the battery assembly into blocks, each equipped with its own detection circuit that can identify individual failed cells within that block. This segmentation approach maintains relatively low apparatus complexity by using simple voltage drop measurements, while simultaneously improving reliability by enabling precise identification of which specific cell has failed, thus resolving the contradiction between complexity and detection capability.
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 real-time detection of battery cell failures due to active material leakage, avoiding delays in responding to failures and providing a distinct detection scheme from traditional depth of discharge methods.
Implementation Method 1
detect resistance changes caused by active material leakage
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention pertains to an insulating container for a battery, a battery control device, and a battery-failure detection method. The insulating container (10) for the battery is equipped with a housing (12) for housing a battery module (28) having an open upper surface and obtained by connecting a plurality of single batteries (26) in series and in parallel, and a lid (14) installed on the upper-surface side of the housing (12). This insulating container for insulating an interior space (24) for housing the battery module (28), and an exterior space, which are formed by the housing (12) and the lid (14), has a circuit member (36) for detecting leakage of an active substance from the battery module (28) in the floor of the housing (12).