Partially-submerged battery cells for vehicle energy-storage systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9692096-B2
Application number	US-201514866907-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2015
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

Provided are cooling subsystems for energy-storage systems comprising: a coolant section having a coolant circulated therein; a non-coolant section having a fluid other than the coolant disposed therein; a plurality of battery cells having a coated portion and a non-coated portion, the coated portion being disposed in the coolant section, and the non-coated portion being disposed in the non-coolant section. Some embodiments may also comprise a retainer disposed between the coolant section and the non-coolant section, the retainer holding the plurality of battery cells, the retainer forming a seal around the plurality of battery cells, the seal preventing the flow of coolant from the coolant section to the non-coolant section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A energy-storage system comprising:
a coolant section having a coolant circulated therein;
a non-coolant section having a fluid other than the coolant disposed therein;
a plurality of battery cells having a coated portion and a non-coated portion, the coated portion being disposed in the coolant section, and the non-coated portion being disposed in the non-coolant section; and
a retainer disposed between the coolant section and the non-coolant section, the retainer holding the plurality of battery cells, the retainer forming a seal around the plurality of battery cells, the seal preventing the flow of coolant from the coolant section to the non-coolant section,
wherein the coated portion is coated with a coating material having a high electrical resistance and a high thermal conductivity; and
wherein the coating material comprises at least one of aluminum oxide, diamond powder based materials, and boron nitride.

2. The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the coolant comprises ethylene glycol and water.

3. The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the retainer comprises an elastomer.

4. The energy-storage system of claim 3 further comprising:
a current carrier electrically coupled to the plurality of battery cells, a cathode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective positive contact of the current carrier, and an anode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective negative contact of the current carrier.

5. The energy-storage system of claim 4 , wherein the cathode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective positive contact of the current carrier and the anode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective negative contact of the current carrier.

6. The energy-storage system of claim 4 , wherein the current carrier includes a plurality of fuses each electrically coupled to the respective positive contact.

7. The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein at least one side of the retainer is potted.

8. The energy-storage system of claim 1 , wherein the battery cells are cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells.

9. An energy-storage system comprising:
a plurality of battery cells each comprising:
a coated portion being disposed in coolant, and
a non-coated portion being disposed in a fluid other than the coolant; and

a retainer disposed between the coated portion and the non-coated portion, the retainer holding the plurality of battery cells, the retainer forming a seal around the plurality of battery cells, the seal separating the coolant and the fluid,
wherein the coating material comprises at least one of aluminum oxide, diamond powder based materials, and boron nitride.

10. The energy-storage system of claim 9 , wherein the battery cells are cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells.

11. The energy-storage system of claim 9 , wherein the coolant comprises ethylene glycol and water.

12. The energy-storage system of claim 9 , wherein the coated portion is coated with a coating material having a high electrical resistance and a high thermal conductivity.

13. The energy-storage system of claim 9 , wherein the retainer comprises an elastomer.

14. The energy-storage system of claim 9 , wherein at least one side of the retainer is potted.

15. The energy-storage system of claim 14 further comprising:
a current carrier electrically coupled to the plurality of battery cells, a cathode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective positive contact of the current carrier, and an anode terminal of each of the battery cells being coupled to a respective negative contact of the current carrier.

16. The energy-storage system of claim 15 , wherein the cathode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective positive contact of the current carrier and the anode terminal of each cell is laser welded to the respective negative contact of the current carrier.

17. The energy-storage system of claim 16 , wherein the current carrier includes a plurality of fuses each electrically coupled to the respective positive contact.

Assignees

• Faraday&Future Inc

Inventors

• Harris W Porter

Classifications

• H01M50/227

  Organic material · CPC title

• H01M50/507

  comprising an arrangement of two or more busbars within a container structure, e.g. busbar modules · CPC title

• H01M50/213

  adapted for cells having curved cross-section, e.g. round or elliptic (H01M50/209, H01M50/216 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M10/643

  Cylindrical cells · CPC title

• H01M10/6567

  Liquids · CPC title