Modular Battery Pack Architecture for High-Current Fire-Safe Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current battery energy storage systems face limitations in efficiency due to the need for expensive Battery Management Systems (BMS) that struggle with high current demands, lack of modular design for maintenance, and safety concerns such as fire prevention and handling risks, especially in stationary and automotive applications.
Innovation Solution
A rechargeable battery-module energy storage system with modular design, using bar contactors and a processing module to manage current and temperature, featuring self-extinguishing devices and programmable deformability materials for safe operation and maintenance, allowing for individual cell replacement and integration with external electric systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a Battery Management System (BMS) is installed to control battery status and monitor parameters, then battery safety and monitoring capability are improved, but the BMS cannot withstand intense discharges and system efficiency is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the battery system into modular battery packs, each with its own integrated management capabilities. The BMS functions are distributed across multiple independent modules rather than using a single centralized BMS, allowing each module to handle its own monitoring and control independently, thus avoiding the bottleneck of intense discharge currents affecting the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the BMS from the main power flow path by implementing it at the module level rather than system level. This allows the BMS to monitor battery status without being in the direct path of high-current discharge, separating the monitoring function from the power transmission path and eliminating the constraint on system efficiency.
2Strength
If batteries are welded into one battery pack without swap system, then structural integrity is improved, but maintenance and replacement of defective cells become impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the battery system into replaceable modular packs while maintaining strong internal connections within each module. Each module contains complete battery cells with integrated management, allowing defective modules to be replaced as units rather than requiring individual cell replacement, thus preserving structural integrity while enabling maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a replaceable module design where defective battery modules can be quickly swapped out and replaced with fresh modules. This allows the system to recover functionality by replacing only the failed component rather than the entire battery pack, maintaining structural integrity while enabling easy maintenance and extending system life through module recovery and recycling.
3Volume of moving object
If batteries are incorporated within casing with no swap system, then system compactness is improved, but handling and replacement imply risks of short-circuits, electrocution, and fire
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the battery system into standardized modular packs that maintain compact form factor while enabling safe handling. Each module is self-contained with integrated safety features and standardized connectors, allowing them to be handled and replaced as safe units rather than exposing workers to dangerous loose batteries or complex wiring configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates safety features into the module design before deployment, including protective casings, standardized connectors with built-in protection against short-circuits, and fire-resistant materials. These pre-integrated safety measures cushion against potential hazards during handling and replacement operations, preventing short-circuits, electrocution, and fire risks while maintaining compact design.
4Duration of action of moving object
If internal electronic circuits are replaced with batteries, then system functionality is maintained, but raw materials are wasted due to shorter battery lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the battery modules from the electronic control systems, allowing them to be replaced independently. The long-lived electronic circuits and control systems remain in place while only the consumable battery modules are replaced, minimizing raw material waste by preserving durable components and recycling only the depleted battery modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables selective replacement of battery modules while preserving the electronic control systems and other durable components. This allows for recovery and continued use of valuable materials in the control electronics, while only the depleted battery modules are discarded for recycling, significantly reducing overall raw material waste compared to replacing entire battery packs with integrated electronics.
5Reliability
If skilled personnel are required for battery operation, then operational safety is improved, but operational complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-diagnostic and self-managing capabilities within each battery module, including integrated sensors, monitoring systems, and communication interfaces that automatically detect faults, report status, and manage charging/discharging operations. This allows the system to monitor and manage itself without requiring skilled personnel for routine operations, reducing operational complexity while maintaining safety through automated monitoring and alert systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
The rechargeable battery-module energy storage system comprises an accumulator 10, at least one battery charger module 11, a control and management device 12, a shunt-coil device 13, a processing module 14; the processing module 14 is programmed and configured for estimating the amount of current flowing in the system, breaking supply of current, bringing the internal temperature of the system down to acceptable levels, triggering operations aiming at making each individual compromised component of the system safe, in a passive or active manner, directly from the inside, triggering operations aiming at managing, maintaining, and replacing each individual component. The accumulator 10 comprises at least one battery-module 20, containing a plurality of electrolytic cells 100 and at least one safety device 110, intermediate bar contactors 30 and upper and lower bar contactors 50, at least one switch device 40, programmed-deformability elements 60, elements made of a deformable insulating elastic material 70, at least one deformable material 90 of the extinguishing expansion foam type; one or several battery-modules 20 can be coaxially and operationally connected to every battery-module 20, so as to form a stackable, multiple battery-module accumulator 10. Methods of operation are provided for said accumulation system in both an active mode and a passive mode.