Battery packs with cell module assemblies usable in multiple applications
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Battery packs face degradation in charge capacity over time due to cycling and environmental factors, leading to reduced energy ratings and premature end of life, resulting in discarded components with remaining capacity that could be reused in applications with lower energy demands.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a cell module assembly with lithium-ion battery cells connected in parallel and an electronic controller that tracks useful life data, determines end-of-life thresholds, and allows for reconditioning and reuse of cells in secondary applications based on their remaining capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If battery packs are designed for high energy capacity applications, then they can meet the energy demands of high-power equipment, but the cells degrade faster and reach end-of-life sooner, reducing their useful life
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple cell modules, each with its own electronic controller tracking useful life data independently. This allows selective reconditioning and reuse of individual modules that have not reached end-of-life, extending overall system useful life while maintaining high energy capacity through parallel connections of healthy modules
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of battery cells by transitioning them from high-drain applications to lower-drain applications when they show signs of degradation. This parameter change in usage intensity allows cells to continue providing useful service at reduced capacity, effectively extending their useful life while maintaining adequate performance for the new application
2Duration of action of moving object
If battery cells are reused in secondary applications after reaching end-of-life threshold, then useful life is extended and waste is reduced, but the cells must be carefully matched to applications with lower energy demands
Solution Approach 1:
Electronic controllers continuously monitor useful life indicators including charge cycles, temperature exposure, and charge/discharge rates. This feedback data is used to determine when cells have reached end-of-life thresholds and to guide their reconditioning and reallocation to appropriate secondary applications, ensuring compatibility between cell capability and application requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a structured process of discarding cells from high-performance applications when they reach end-of-life thresholds, then recovering and reconditioning them for secondary applications. This allows maximum utilization of cell capacity across different service levels, extending useful life while maintaining application compatibility through proper matching
3Use of energy by moving object
If multiple cell module assemblies are used in parallel to increase capacity, then energy demand can be met, but tracking and managing useful life across all modules becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Each cell module assembly has its own electronic controller that independently tracks useful life data for its specific modules. This segmentation of monitoring responsibilities simplifies the overall system complexity by distributing the tracking function across multiple independent units, each managing a manageable subset of battery cells
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic controllers are designed with universal functionality to handle multiple tasks: monitoring useful life indicators, determining end-of-life status, initiating reconditioning protocols, and managing parallel/series reconfiguration. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized systems, thereby reducing overall device complexity despite the large number of modules
Data Source
AI summary
A cell module assembly includes multiple lithium-ion battery cells connected in parallel and an electronic controller. The electronic controller is programmed to receive useful life data for a useful life indicator of the battery cells, save the life data to memory to create a life data history, determine a life measurement based on the life data history, compare the life measurement to a first end of life threshold, determine if the life measurement has met the first end of life threshold, provide a first end of life output indicating that the life measurement has met the first end of life threshold, compare the life measurement to a second end of life threshold, determine if the life measurement has met the second end of life threshold, and provide a second end of life output indicating that the life measurement has met the second end of life threshold.