Method for detecting a malfunction of an acoustic sensor coupled to an electrochemical generator and device implementing said method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11415561-B2
Application number	US-201816772564-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2018
Priority date	Dec 14, 2017
Publication date	Aug 16, 2022
Grant date	Aug 16, 2022

Abstract

A method for detecting a malfunction of an acoustic sensor coupled to an electrochemical generator includes applying an electrical signal at a given frequency and a given amplitude, termed the signal frequency and signal amplitude; measuring, by the acoustic sensor, an acoustic signal emitted by the electrochemical generator in response to the application of the electrical signal; and, when the amplitude of the acoustic signal is below a predetermined threshold value, and detecting a malfunction of the acoustic sensor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for detecting a malfunction of an acoustic sensor coupled to an electrochemical generator comprising:
applying an electrical signal to the electrochemical generator at a given signal frequency and a given signal amplitude, the electrical signal applied to the electrochemical generator being superimposed on electrical signals corresponding to a normal operation of the electrochemical generator;
measuring, by the acoustic sensor, an acoustic signal emitted by the electrochemical generator in response to the application of the electrical signal;
when an amplitude of the acoustic signal measured by the acoustic sensor is below a predetermined threshold value, detecting a malfunction of the acoustic sensor.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acoustic sensor has a resonance frequency and the signal frequency is chosen according to said resonance frequency.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the applying of an electrical signal and the measuring of an acoustic signal are repeated at a given detection frequency.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the amplitude of the acoustic signal considered is an average value of the amplitude of the acoustic signal measured over a given bandwidth.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical signal applied has sine, square or triangular shape.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising, before the applying of an electrical signal, a step of calibrating during which the threshold value and the signal amplitude are determined.

7. A device comprising a means of calculating and an acoustic sensor intended to be coupled to said electrochemical generator, wherein the device is configured to implement the method for detecting according to claim 1 .

8. A computer program comprising instructions which lead a device to execute the steps of the method according to claim 1 .

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium readable by a computer, on which the computer program is recorded according to claim 8 .

Assignees

• Commissariat Energie Atomique
• Inst Polytechnique Grenoble

Inventors

• Guillet Nicolas
• Alias Mélanie
• Degret Florence

Classifications

• H04R29/004 Primary

  for microphones (H04R29/007 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01R31/36

  Arrangements for testing, measuring or monitoring the electrical condition of accumulators or electric batteries, e.g. capacity or state of charge [SoC] · CPC title

• H04R17/00

  Piezoelectric transducers; Electrostrictive transducers (piezoelectric or electrostrictive elements in general H10N30/00; details of piezoelectric or electrostrictive motors, generators or positioners {H10N30/00}) · CPC title

• G01N29/4436 Primary

  with a reference signal (amplitude comparison G01N29/48) · CPC title

• G01N29/14

  using acoustic emission techniques {(echo of particles G01N29/046; measuring mechanical vibrations or acoustic waves in solids in general G01H1/00)} · CPC title