Battery Module Short-Circuit Member for Low Current Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rechargeable battery modules operating in low current regions can experience heat generation leading to potential combustion and explosion due to non-operational cell fuses, as they lack effective mechanisms to manage short-circuits.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of a module short-circuit member with a bimetal structure or shape memory alloy that creates a high-current external short-circuit when heat is generated, allowing cell fuses to operate and terminate the battery module's operation safely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cell fuses are used to protect against short-circuits, then high-current short-circuits are protected, but low current region short-circuits cannot be detected and protected
Solution Approach 1:
The protection mechanism is segmented into two distinct components: cell fuses for high-current protection and a module short-circuit member for low-current protection. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific current range, with the module short-circuit member having lower melting points or lower activation thresholds that enable it to respond to low current region short-circuits that cell fuses would miss.
Solution Approach 2:
The module short-circuit member acts as an intermediary protection layer between the cell fuses and the actual short-circuit hazard in low current regions. It bridges the protection gap by detecting and responding to low-level short-circuits that pass through the cell fuses unnoticed, thereby extending the overall protection coverage to include both high and low current regions.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the battery module operates in low current region, then energy consumption is reduced, but heat generation occurs that cell fuses cannot handle
Solution Approach 1:
The module short-circuit member is designed with different material properties or structural parameters than cell fuses, specifically having lower activation thresholds or different thermal characteristics. This parameter change enables it to respond to the heat generation patterns characteristic of low current region operation, where heat accumulates slowly but persistently, unlike the sudden high-current scenarios cell fuses are designed for.
3Reliability
If traditional cell fuses are used, then high current protection is provided, but combustion and explosion may occur in low current region
Solution Approach 1:
The module short-circuit member provides beforehand cushioning by detecting and responding to low current region short-circuits before they can escalate into combustion or explosion hazards. It acts as an early warning and intervention system that addresses the root cause (low current short-circuit) before it generates sufficient heat to cause catastrophic failure, thereby cushioning against the potential harmful outcomes.
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 manages heat-induced short-circuits by creating a high-current external short-circuit, ensuring the battery module's safe termination and preventing combustion, even when operating in low current regions where traditional fuses are ineffective.
Implementation Method 1
The module short-circuit member may have a bimetal structure
Implementation Method 2
The module short-circuit member may include a shape memory alloy
Implementation Method 3
heat may be generated inside the electrode assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A rechargeable battery module includes a plurality of unit cells each including a rechargeable battery, a first electrode terminal, and a second electrode terminal; a bus bar coupling adjacent ones of the plurality of unit cells; a first module terminal coupled to the first electrode terminal of one of the plurality of unit cells at one side of the unit cells; a second module terminal coupled to the second electrode terminal of an other one of the plurality of unit cells at an opposite side of the unit cells; and a module short-circuit member coupled to the first module terminal or the second module terminal, separated from the other module terminal, and configured to contact the other module terminal according to temperature.