Method and system for preventing battery thermal runaway

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11626627-B2
Application number	US-202017030366-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 23, 2020
Priority date	Sep 23, 2020
Publication date	Apr 11, 2023
Grant date	Apr 11, 2023

Abstract

A method and system for preventing battery thermal runaway are provided. The method includes: detecting or predicting whether there is a thermal runaway risk for each battery cell or battery module of a battery pack; and in response to detecting or predicting that there is a thermal runaway risk for at least one battery cell or battery module of the battery pack, transferring battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy or electric energy.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for preventing battery thermal runaway, comprising:
connecting switches or pairs of switches with respective battery cells or battery modules of a battery pack;
controlling, upon receiving an activation instruction, connection of respective battery cells or battery modules of the battery pack to a protection circuit;
detecting or predicting whether there is a thermal runaway risk for each of the battery cells or the battery modules of the battery pack; and
in response to detecting or predicting that there is a thermal runaway risk for at least one battery cell or battery module of the battery pack, sending the activation instruction to each switch or pair of switches corresponding to the at least one battery cell or battery module, transferring battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy or electric energy by the protection circuit.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein detecting or predicting whether there is a thermal runaway risk for each of the battery cells or the battery modules of the battery pack comprises:
collecting information of every battery cell or battery module of the battery pack;
detecting or predicting, based on the collected information, whether there is a thermal runaway risk for each battery cell or battery module of the battery pack.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein transferring battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy or electric energy comprises at least one of:
a first transferring mode of transferring the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy through a battery coolant loop for the battery pack or another battery pack;
a second transferring mode of transferring the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy through heating elements attached to battery sidewalls for battery cells or battery modules of the battery pack or another battery pack;
a third transferring mode of transferring the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as electric energy through discharging and recycling the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to charge the battery pack or another battery pack with the help of at least one step-up DC/DC converter.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein in the first transferring mode, the at least one battery cell or battery module is connected with at least one of the following elements connected in or connected to the battery coolant loop for the battery pack or another battery pack: a heating device, a coolant pump, a traction motor, an inverter, a charger.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the heating device comprises at least one of: a resistive heater, a Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heater, a High Voltage (HV) heater; or,
the traction motor and the inverter serve as heat generation devices by running at an efficiency lower than a preset efficiency threshold.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein in a case where the at least one element connected in or connected to the battery coolant loop for the battery pack or another battery pack requires a voltage higher than a voltage of the at least one battery cell or battery module, the at least one battery cell or battery module is connected with the at least one element through at least one step-up DC/DC converter which increases the voltage of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the voltage required by the at least one element.

7. The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the heating elements comprise at least one of: resistive heaters, resistive heating elements.

8. The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein in the third transferring mode, the at least one battery cell or battery module is connected, through the at least one step-up DC/DC converter, to the entire battery pack, or another battery pack, or a group of battery cells or battery modules in the battery pack, or a group of battery cells or battery modules in another battery pack.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein
in a case where the battery pack or another battery pack is located in an environment with temperature lower than a temperature threshold, the first transferring mode or the second transferring mode is adopted; and/or,
in a case where no thermal management for the battery pack or another battery pack is provided, the third transferring mode is adopted.

10. A system for preventing battery thermal runaway, comprising:
a battery pack provided with multiple battery cells or battery modules;
switches or pairs of switches connected with respective battery cells or battery modules of the battery pack, and used for controlling, upon receiving an activation instruction, connection of respective battery cells or battery modules of the battery pack to a protection circuit;
a detection and prediction component, configured to detect or predict whether there is a thermal runaway risk for each battery cell or battery module of the battery pack, and send, in response to detecting or predicting that there is a thermal runaway risk for at least one battery cell or battery module of the battery pack, the activation instruction to each switch or pair of switches corresponding to the at least one battery cell or battery module; and
the protection circuit which, when being connected with the at least one battery cell or battery module, transfers battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy or electric energy.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the detection and prediction component is configured to detect or predict whether there is a thermal runaway risk for each battery cell or battery module of the battery pack in the following manner:
collecting information of every battery cell or battery module of the battery pack;
detecting or predicting, based on the collected information, whether there is a thermal runaway risk for each battery cell or battery module of the battery pack.

12. The system as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the protection circuit, when being connected with the at least one battery cell or battery module, transfers the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy or electric energy in at least one of the following modes:
a first transferring mode of transferring the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy through a battery coolant loop for the battery pack or another battery pack;
a second transferring mode of transferring the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as thermal energy through heating elements attached to battery sidewalls for battery cells or battery modules of the battery pack or another battery pack;
a third transferring mode of transferring the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to the battery pack or another battery pack as electric energy through discharging and recycling the battery energy of the at least one battery cell or battery module to charge the battery pack or another battery pack with the help of at least one step-up DC/DC converter.

13. The system

Assignees

• Guangzhou Automobile Group Co

Inventors

• Li Xiaohui
• Yang Bozhi
• Zhang Chen
• Zhu Ruiming

Classifications

• H02J7/65

  against overtemperature · CPC title

• H01M10/635

  based on ambient temperature · CPC title

• H01M10/667

  the system being an electronic component, e.g. a CPU, an inverter or a capacitor · CPC title

• H01M10/6571

  Resistive heaters (arrangements for heating the battery by its resistance to the internal current H01M10/637) · CPC title

• H01M10/482 Primary

  for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially · CPC title