Battery Stack Segmentation for Vehicle Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
High power battery stacks in vehicles pose a safety risk during accidents, as they can expose rescue personnel to lethal energy if terminals become accessible, and existing solutions like impact-resistant enclosures are costly and increase weight.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes an impact recognition device and interrupt mechanisms to divide the battery stack into sub-stacks upon impact detection, reducing energy storage capacity and breaking the electric circuit, thereby minimizing exposure risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If impact-resistant enclosures are manufactured to withstand accident impact, then safety of rescue personnel is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and weight of battery stack arrangement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery stack is divided into multiple battery sub-stacks connected by separable electrical connections. Upon impact detection, the interrupt mechanism separates these sub-stacks, breaking the electrical circuit and isolating hazardous energy. This segmentation approach provides safety without requiring a fully impact-resistant enclosure, thereby reducing weight and manufacturing cost while still protecting rescue personnel.
2Power
If the battery stack is designed with high energy storage capacity for vehicle applications, then power performance is improved, but the harmful energy exposure risk to persons increases
Solution Approach 1:
The high-power battery stack is segmented into multiple sub-stacks that can be electrically isolated from each other. This allows the system to maintain high overall power capacity while ensuring that any single accessible point contains only a portion of the total energy, reducing the harmful exposure risk to persons.
Solution Approach 2:
Electrical disconnect mechanisms serve as intermediaries between the high-energy battery stack and the external environment. These disconnects can be activated to isolate hazardous energy zones, allowing the system to maintain high power performance while providing a controllable barrier against energy exposure risks.
3Reliability
If rescue operations require removal of the battery stack before commencing rescue, then safety is improved, but rescue time increases and rescue efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery stack is divided into separable sub-stacks with isolatable electrical connections. This segmentation allows rescue personnel to work on vehicles with the battery stack remaining in place, as the hazardous energy can be electrically isolated without physical removal, significantly reducing rescue time while maintaining safety.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the battery stack is divided into sub-stacks using interrupt mechanisms, then energy exposure risk is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interrupt mechanism divides the battery stack into modular sub-stacks with separable electrical connections. This segmentation reduces energy exposure risk by isolating hazardous energy zones while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that can be integrated into existing battery stack designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The interrupt mechanisms are pre-positioned within the battery stack structure, with disconnect components already arranged to separate sub-stacks upon activation. This preliminary arrangement reduces the complexity of the activation process and allows for straightforward integration into the battery system design.
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 solution reduces the risk to rescue personnel by reducing the energy exposure and allows for safer rescue operations without removing the battery stack, with the added advantage of potentially reusing separated sub-stacks in a rebuilt battery stack.
Implementation Method 1
An impact recognition device detects that an impact has taken place
Implementation Method 2
the interrupt mechanism is configured to separate the sub-stacks using springs
Data Source
Figure 1~3c
Figure 4~6
Figure 7~8
AI summary
The present invention relates to a system for breaking an electric circuit in a battery stack arranged in a vehicle, wherein said battery stack comprises a plurality of batteries, each battery comprises at least one battery cell connected to a positive terminal and a negative terminal. An electric current flows between the positive terminal and a negative terminal of adjacently arranged batteries during operation. The system comprises: an impact recognition device and at least one interrupt mechanism. The interrupt mechanism is arranged to break the electric circuit in the battery stack in order to divide said battery stack into several battery sub-stacks, each sub- stack comprising at least one battery, when said impact recognition device detects an impact.