Negative thermal expansion current interrupter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11842868-B2
Application number	US-202017023242-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 16, 2020
Priority date	May 1, 2017
Publication date	Dec 12, 2023
Grant date	Dec 12, 2023

Abstract

An electric power system such as, for example, a circuit, an electric appliance, an electric generator, and/or an energy storage system, can be coupled with a negative thermal expansion component. The negative thermal expansion component can be formed from a material having negative thermal expansion properties such that the negative thermal expansion component contracts in response to an increase in temperature. The contraction of the negative thermal expansion component can form a nonconductive gap that disrupts current flow through the electric power system. The disruption of the current flow can eliminate hazards associated with the electric power system overcharging, overheating, and/or developing an internal short circuit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuse, comprising:
a negative thermal expansion plate interposed between a first metal plate and a second metal plate, the negative thermal expansion plate comprising a negative thermal expansion material such that at least a portion of the negative thermal expansion plate contracts in response to an increase in temperature, the contraction of the negative thermal expansion plate forming a nonconductive gap between the first metal plate and the second metal plate, and the formation of the nonconductive gap disrupting a current flow through an electric power system coupled with the fuse, the negative thermal expansion plate further comprising a nonconductive material providing structural support, the nonconductive material comprising a positive temperature coefficient material such that another portion of the negative thermal expansion plate responds to the temperature exceeding a threshold value by undergoing a phase transition to cause the another portion of the negative thermal expansion plate to expand and further form the nonconductive gap.

2. The fuse of claim 1 , wherein the positive temperature coefficient material comprises poly ethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastic, glass and/or fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acetal, amber, benzocyclobutene, cellulose acetate (CA), cellulose acetate butynate (CAB), cellulose nitrate (CN), chlorinated polyether, chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC), ethylene ethyl acrylate (EEA), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), fluoroethylene propylene (FEP), fluorspar, CaF 2 , gutta percha, nylon molding and/or extruding compound, paraffin, polybutylene (PB), polyamide (PA), polyester, and/or polypropylene (PP).

3. The fuse of claim 1 , wherein the electric power system comprises a circuit, an electric appliance, an electric generator, and/or an energy storage system.

4. The fuse of claim 1 , wherein the fuse is disposed on an interior of the electric power system.

5. The fuse of claim 1 , wherein the fuse is coupled with the electric power system via an external connection.

6. The fuse of claim 1 , wherein the negative thermal expansion material comprises one or more oxides.

7. The fuse of claim 1 , wherein the negative thermal expansion material comprises a silicate, a zirconium tungstate, a cyanide, a ruthenate, a siliceous faujasite, Fe 3 Pt, a perovskite oxides, an antiperovskite, a zeolite, a samarium fulleride, LaCu 3 Fe 4 O 12 , an invar alloy, a metal oxide, a low-dimensional material, a metal fluoride, a mechanoresponsive polymer, a porous polyacrylamide, a dibenzocyclooctadiene, and/or a polyacrylamide film containing dibenzocyclooctadiene.

8. The fuse of claim 1 , wherein the negative thermal expansion material comprises a composite of one or more negative thermal expansion materials.

Assignees

• American Lithium Energy Corp

Inventors

• Fan Jiang

Classifications

• H01H37/46 Primary

  actuated due to expansion or contraction of a solid (deflection of a bimetallic element H01H37/52) · CPC title

• H01H37/36

  actuated due to expansion or contraction of a fluid with or without vaporisation (the fluid forming a contact of the switch H01H29/04, H01H29/30) · CPC title

• H01M4/382

  Lithium (H01M4/405 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/04701 Primary

  Temperature · CPC title

• H01M10/052

  Li-accumulators · CPC title