Intumescent Fire Protection Jacket for Handheld Tool Battery Cells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lithium-ion batteries in handheld machine tools can experience thermal runaway due to malfunctioning cells, leading to uncontrolled heat release and potential explosions, posing risks to humans and the environment, despite existing safety measures.
Innovation Solution
A battery unit with at least one isolation battery cell surrounded by a fire protection jacket made of intumescent material, which expands at high temperatures to thermally insulate the cell, prevent heat dissipation, and reduce the risk of fire or explosion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If safety valves are used to release excessive pressure in battery cells, then pressure relief is improved, but the risk of thermal runaway and explosion is not fully eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
A fire protection jacket made of intumescent material is introduced as an intermediary between the battery cell and the external environment. This jacket acts as a protective barrier that activates during thermal runaway, expanding to insulate the cell and prevent fire propagation to surrounding components, thereby addressing the insufficient protection provided by safety valves alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The intumescent material in the fire protection jacket creates an inert protective atmosphere around the battery cell during thermal events. When activated by heat, the material expands and forms an insulating layer that limits oxygen access and heat transfer, effectively creating a protective environment that prevents combustion and fire spread.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If fire protection jacket with intumescent material is added to surround battery cells, then fire protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fire protection jacket is constructed as a flexible shell that can be easily applied to individual battery cells or battery packs. This thin-film approach provides comprehensive fire protection without adding significant structural complexity, as the jacket can conform to the battery geometry and integrate seamlessly into existing battery designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire protection jacket utilizes composite materials, specifically intumescent coatings or laminates, that combine multiple functional properties in a single layer. These composite structures provide fire resistance, thermal insulation, and mechanical protection simultaneously, reducing the need for multiple separate protective components and simplifying the overall battery structure.
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 fire protection jacket effectively seals faulty cells, reduces heat transfer, and can extinguish or limit fires, enhancing user safety and extending battery life by reducing stress on the battery unit.
Implementation Method 1
a fire protection jacket, showing an intumescent material, which at least partially enwraps the isolation battery cell such that the isolation battery cell is surrounded by the fire protection jacket at a predetermined temperature such that the isolation battery cell is thermally insulated
Implementation Method 2
the isolation battery cell is surrounded by the fire protection jacket at a predetermined temperature such that the isolation battery cell is thermally insulated
Data Source
AI summary
The battery unit according to the invention for a handheld machine tool comprises a number of battery cells, with at least one of the battery cells being embodied as an isolation battery cell, and showing a fire protection jacket comprising an intumescent material. The fire protection jacket surrounds the isolation battery cell at least partially such that the isolation battery cell is surrounded by the fire protection jacket at a predetermined temperature such that the isolation battery cell is thermally insulated.