Rechargeable Battery Fuse Segmentation for Short Circuit Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Rechargeable batteries face safety risks due to potential short circuits, which can lead to excessive heat, pressure surges, fire, or explosion, as existing safety measures are inadequate in preventing abnormal breakdowns.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating fuses with higher electrical resistance and smaller thickness than terminal components, both inside and outside the battery cell, to divert arcing generated from short circuits outside the cell, thereby preventing internal abnormal breakdowns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fuses are added inside and outside the cell to prevent short circuits, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fuse protection system is segmented into two distinct parts: a first fuse part located inside the cell and a second fuse part located outside the cell. This segmentation allows the patent to address different safety scenarios separately - internal short circuits are handled by the first fuse part while external short circuits are handled by the second fuse part, thereby improving overall safety without requiring a single complex protection mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces terminal plates as intermediary components that connect the external circuit to the cell terminals. These terminal plates serve as mediators by providing a controlled path for current flow and housing the second fuse part, which acts as a sacrificial element to protect the cell from external short circuits. The intermediary structure allows safe dissipation of energy outside the cell
2Reliability
If the first fuse part has greater electrical resistance to divert arcing, then safety is improved, but energy loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potentially harmful effect of electrical resistance (energy loss) into a beneficial safety feature. By designing the first fuse part with greater electrical resistance, it intentionally creates a controlled high-resistance path that generates arcing outside the cell during short circuit conditions. This controlled arcing serves as a protective mechanism that prevents more dangerous internal breakdown, effectively converting energy loss into safety
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the harmful arcing phenomenon from the cell interior and relocates it to the external environment. By positioning the first fuse part outside the cell and designing it with higher resistance, the patent ensures that any arcing occurs in a controlled external location rather than inside the cell where it could cause catastrophic damage. This extraction separates the harmful effect from the vulnerable component
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
The solution effectively prevents or substantially prevents abnormal breakdowns and enhances safety by ensuring that arcing occurs outside the cell, reducing the risk of fires or explosions.
Implementation Method 1
The first fuse part may have a greater electrical resistance than the first terminal body part
Implementation Method 2
divert arcing generated from short circuits outside the cell
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A rechargeable battery including: an electrode assembly including a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate, and a separator between the first electrode plate and the second electrode plate; a case accommodating the electrode assembly; a first electrode terminal and a second electrode terminal electrically connected to the first electrode plate and the second electrode plate, respectively, and protruding to the outside of the case; and a first terminal plate and a second terminal plate positioned outside the case and coupled to the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal, respectively, and a terminal plate of the first terminal plate and the second terminal plate includes a first fuse.