Rechargeable battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9324997-B2
Application number	US-201514946216-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 19, 2015
Priority date	Nov 19, 2010
Publication date	Apr 26, 2016
Grant date	Apr 26, 2016

Abstract

Technologies are generally described for a battery, a method for implementing a battery and a rechargeable battery system. In some examples, the rechargeable battery system includes a battery. The battery may include a first electrode including a tantalum component, a vanadium component and a boron component. The battery may further include a second electrode and an electrical insulator between the first and the second electrode. The battery system may include a housing, where the housing includes the first electrode, and where the housing is effective to communicate light and oxygen to the first electrode. A sensor may be disposed so as to be effective to detect a reaction of tantalum and oxygen in the housing and generate a reaction signal in response. A processor may be in electrical communication with the sensor and effective to receive the reaction signal and generate an indication based on the reaction signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rechargeable battery system, comprising:
a battery that includes:
a first electrode, wherein the first electrode includes a tantalum vanadium boron component and wherein the first electrode is effective to react with oxygen to produce at least one electron;
a second electrode;
an insulator between the first electrode and the second electrode;
a housing, wherein the housing includes the first electrode, and wherein the housing is effective to communicate light and oxygen to the first electrode;

a sensor disposed so as to be effective to detect a reaction of the tantalum vanadium boron component and oxygen in the housing, the sensor effective to generate a reaction signal in response to the reaction; and
a processor in communication with the sensor, wherein the processor is effective to receive the reaction signal and generate an indication based on the reaction signal,
wherein the indication indicates whether a charge of the battery is below a threshold.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein at least one of internal surfaces of the housing is at least partially coated with an indium tin oxide.

3. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tantalum vanadium boron component is at least partially coated with indium tin oxide.

4. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes at least one of an oxygen sensor, a pressure sensor, or a flow sensor.

5. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tantalum vanadium boron component is effective to react with the oxygen to produce tantalum oxide, the system further comprising a light source in communication with the housing, where the housing is effective to communicate light from the light source to the tantalum oxide, and the light is effective to disassociate the oxygen from the tantalum vanadium boron component.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein amounts of tantalum, vanadium, and boron in the tantalum vanadium boron component are in a ratio of from 1:1:4 to 3:3:6 respectively.

7. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tantalum vanadium boron component includes TaVB 2 .

8. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tantalum vanadium boron component includes a vanadium oxide.

9. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tantalum vanadium boron component includes a tantalum oxide.

10. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tantalum vanadium boron component includes a boron oxide.

11. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first electrode includes more than one electrode component and the more than one electrode components are connected together by an electrical conductor.

12. A rechargeable battery system, comprising:
a battery that includes:
a housing, wherein at least one of internal surfaces of the housing is at least partially coated with an indium tin oxide and the housing has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, the first side including a first electrode and the second side including a second electrode, wherein the housing further includes first walls and second walls, wherein the first walls define first holes effective to enable light from a light source to be exposed to the first electrode and the second walls define second holes effective to enable air to flow into and out of the housing;
the first electrode, wherein the first electrode includes a TaVB 2 component and wherein the first electrode is effective to react with oxygen in the air in the housing to produce at least one electron;
an insulator between the first electrode and the second electrode;

a sensor disposed so as to be effective to detect a reaction of the TaVB 2 component and oxygen in the housing, the sensor effective to generate a reaction signal in response to the reaction; and
a processor in communication with the sensor, wherein the processor is effective to receive the reaction signal and generate an indication based on the reaction signal.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first electrode includes more than one electrode component and the more than one electrode components are connected together by an electrical conductor.

14. The system as recited in claim 12 , wherein the indication indicates whether a charge of the battery is below a threshold.

15. The system as recited in claim 12 , wherein the TaVB 2 component is at least partially coated with indium tin oxide.

16. The system as recited in claim 12 , wherein the sensor includes at least one of an oxygen sensor, a pressure sensor, or a flow sensor.

17. A rechargeable battery system, comprising:
a light source configured to provide light to a battery that includes a housing, wherein at least one of internal surfaces of the housing is at least partially coated with an indium tin oxide and the housing has a first side and a second side opposite to the first side, wherein the first side includes a first electrode and the second side includes a second electrode, wherein the housing further includes first walls and second walls, wherein the first walls define first holes effective to enable the light from a light source to be exposed to the first electrode and the second walls define second holes effective to enable air to flow into and out of the housing, wherein the first electrode includes a tantalum vanadium boron component and wherein the first electrode is effective to react with oxygen in the air in the housing to produce at least one electron;
a sensor disposed so as to be effective to detect a reaction of the tantalum vanadium boron component and oxygen in the housing, the sensor effective to generate a reaction signal in response to the reaction; and
a processor in communication with the sensor, wherein the processor is effective to receive the reaction signal and generate an indication based on the reaction signal, wherein the indication indicates whether a charge of the battery is below a threshold.

18. The rechargeable battery system of claim 17 , wherein the tantalum vanadium boron component includes TaVB 2 .

19. The rechargeable battery system of claim 17 , wherein the sensor includes at least one of an oxygen sensor, a pressure sensor, or a flow sensor.

20. A method to recharge a rechargeable battery that includes an electrode, the method comprising:
receiving an indication that indicates a charge of the rechargeable battery is below a threshold; and
in response to receiving the indication, exposing the electrode, which includes a tantalum vanadium boron component, to light from a light source through a hole in a wall of a housing of the rechargeable battery so that the electrode is effective to react with oxygen to produce tantalum oxide and the light is effective to disassociate the oxygen from the tantalum vanadium boron component.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 , wherein exposing the electrode, which includes the tantalum vanadium boron component, includes exposing TaVB 2 .

22. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising:
detecting, by a sensor, a reaction of the tantalum vanadium boron component and oxygen in the housing;
generating, by the sensor, a reaction signal in response to detecting the reaction;
receiving, by a processor in communication with the sensor, the reaction signal; and
generating, by the processor, the indication based on the reaction signal.

23. The method as recited in claim 22 , wherein detecting includes detecting with at least one of an oxygen sensor, a pressure sensor, or

Assignees

• Empire Technology Dev Llc

Inventors

• Thevasahayam Arockiadoss

Classifications

• H01M10/48

  Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte (constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569) · CPC title

• H01M50/119

  Metals · CPC title

• H01M4/134 Primary

  Electrodes based on metals, Si or alloys · CPC title

• H01M4/131

  Electrodes based on mixed oxides or hydroxides, or on mixtures of oxides or hydroxides, e.g. LiCoOx · CPC title

• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title