Secondary Battery Separation via Compression Voltage Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods lack a safe and effective way to disassemble and reuse secondary batteries in a battery pack without impairing their performance, as expansion due to degradation can cause pressure issues and make it difficult to identify and separate normal from abnormal batteries.
Innovation Solution
A method involving measuring the open circuit voltage of each battery before and after compressing the pack to a designed dimension, allowing for the separation of normal secondary batteries based on the change in voltage, thereby distinguishing them from degraded ones and enabling safe disassembly and reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the battery pack is disassembled by releasing the binding plates without compression, then the disassembly process is simple and quick, but abnormal batteries cannot be identified and may cause short-circuits during separation
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is compressed to the designed dimension before disassembly to preliminarily identify abnormal batteries through voltage measurement. This preliminary action prevents short-circuits during subsequent separation by detecting batteries with expanded separators that would otherwise be undetectable until disassembly.
Solution Approach 2:
Open circuit voltage measurements are taken before and after compression to detect changes that indicate abnormal battery conditions. This feedback mechanism identifies batteries with expanded separators, allowing safe separation while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If the battery pack is compressed to design dimension before disassembly, then abnormal batteries can be identified through voltage change measurement, but the disassembly process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
A compression device with parallel compression plates acts as an intermediary tool to apply controlled compression force. This intermediary enables voltage-based identification of abnormal batteries without requiring complex disassembly procedures, balancing reliability improvement with process simplicity.
3Productivity
If abnormal batteries are not identified and separated, then all batteries can be reused without additional testing, but degraded batteries may cause short-circuits and reduce overall battery pack performance
Solution Approach 1:
Mechanical compression is replaced with electrical measurement (open circuit voltage) to identify abnormal batteries. This substitution enables non-invasive detection that preserves battery performance while ensuring reliable identification of degraded cells, maintaining both productivity and safety.
4Measurement precision
If the binding plates are not kept parallel during compression, then compression can be applied more forcefully to detect abnormalities, but the batteries may be deformed and their reusability reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The compression plates are maintained in a parallel configuration during compression, creating an equipotential stress distribution across all batteries. This uniform compression enables reliable voltage-based detection of abnormalities while preventing deformation that would reduce battery reusability.
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
This method allows for the reliable separation of normal secondary batteries without causing short-circuits, maintaining their performance and enabling their reuse, while avoiding deformation that could lead to reduced reusability.
Implementation Method 1
compressing the battery pack in the stacking direction to a dimension of the battery pack at the time of design
Implementation Method 2
measuring an open circuit voltage of each of the secondary batteries while retaining a bound state by means of the pair of binding plates of the battery pack
Data Source
AI summary
A method for disassembling a battery pack to separate a secondary battery which can be reused, without impairing the performance of a secondary battery, having remaining life which, constitutes the battery pack. A pair of holding plates is brought into contact with binding plates on both ends of a battery pack to compress the battery pack in the stacking direction. The open circuit voltage before and after the compression is measured, and based on an amount of change of the open circuit voltage before and after compression, a battery pack which can be reused is separated.