CN-122000502-A - Systems and methods for distinguishing between a vent condition and a leak condition in a battery pack

Abstract

A system for distinguishing between a venting condition and a leaking condition of electrolyte vapor released from a battery is disclosed. The system includes a sensing element having a polymer support for detecting a concentration of electrolyte vapor, a heating element positioned and configured to heat the polymer support of the sensing element to evaporate electrolyte from the polymer support, at least one processor communicatively coupled with the sensing element and the heating element to activate and subsequently deactivate the heating element for an amount of time, a vent condition determined when the concentration of electrolyte vapor exceeds a threshold level within a predefined time interval after the heating element is deactivated, and a leak condition determined when the concentration of electrolyte vapor does not exceed the threshold level within the predefined time interval.

Inventors

• T. M. Foley
• Keith Francis Edwin Platt
• John chaples

Assignees

• 生命安全销售股份有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251016

Priority Date

20241105

Claims (10)

1. 1. A system for distinguishing between a venting condition and a leakage condition of electrolyte vapor released from a battery, the system comprising: A sensing element configured to detect a concentration of the electrolyte vapor released from the battery pack, wherein the sensing element comprises a polymer support; a heating element positioned and configured to heat the polymer support of the sensing element to evaporate electrolyte from the polymer support, and At least one processor communicatively coupled with the sensing element and the heating element, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Activating the heating element for an amount of time and then deactivating the heating element; determining the exhaust condition in the event that the concentration of the electrolyte vapor exceeds a threshold level within a predefined time interval after the heating element is deactivated, and The leakage condition is determined if the concentration of the electrolyte vapor does not exceed the threshold level within the predefined time interval.
2. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to trigger an alarm via an alarm unit communicatively coupled to the at least one processor if the exhaust condition is determined.
3. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the concentration of the electrolyte vapor increases rapidly during the venting condition as compared to the concentration of the electrolyte vapor during the leakage condition.
4. 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is configured to iteratively: activating the heating element for the amount of time, and The heating element is then deactivated for a second amount of time, Wherein the second amount of time is less than or equal to the predefined time interval to prevent the concentration of the electrolyte vapor from exceeding the threshold level and to prevent the alarm from being triggered by the alarm unit when the leakage condition of the electrolyte vapor released from the battery pack exists.
5. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the amount of time the heating element is enabled by the at least one processor is sufficient to evaporate the electrolyte from the polymer support of the sensing element.
6. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the heating element is configured to raise a temperature of the polymer support of the sensing element by a set temperature sufficient to evaporate the electrolyte from the polymer support of the sensing element.
7. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the polymer support is positioned and configured to absorb the electrolyte vapor released from the battery.
8. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the heating element comprises a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) heater.
9. 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the heating element is positioned to heat the polymer support by being positioned locally to, in contact with, coplanar with, or below the sensing element.
10. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined time interval is greater than five minutes.

Description

Systems and methods for distinguishing between a vent condition and a leak condition in a battery pack Technical Field Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to a system for a battery, and more particularly, to a system and method for distinguishing between a venting condition and a leakage condition of electrolyte vapor released from a battery. Background In batteries such as lithium ion batteries, traces of electrolyte vapor are sometimes released due to leakage and/or venting of the electrolyte vapor. During a venting condition within the battery, a higher concentration of electrolyte vapor is released than during a leaking condition. However, it is difficult for the conventional sensor to distinguish between a leakage condition and a degassing condition in the battery pack. The inventors have identified numerous areas of improvement in the prior art and methods, which are the subject of the embodiments described herein. Many of these drawbacks, challenges, and problems have been addressed by developing solutions included in embodiments of the present disclosure, some examples of which are described in detail herein, through efforts, wisdom, and innovation. Disclosure of Invention The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements nor delineate the scope of such elements. Its purpose is to present some concepts of the described features in a simplified form as a more detailed description that is presented hereinafter. In an example embodiment, a system for distinguishing between a venting condition and a leakage condition of electrolyte vapor released from a battery is disclosed. The system includes a sensing element configured to detect a concentration of electrolyte vapor released from the battery pack. Furthermore, the sensing element comprises a polymer support. The system also includes a heating element positioned and configured to heat the polymer support of the sensing element to evaporate electrolyte from the polymer support, and at least one processor communicatively coupled with the sensing element and the heating element. Further, the at least one processor is configured to activate the heating element for an amount of time and subsequently deactivate the heating element, determine a venting condition if the concentration of the electrolyte vapor exceeds a threshold level within a predefined time interval after the heating element is deactivated, and determine a leakage condition if the concentration of the electrolyte vapor does not exceed the threshold level within the predefined time interval. In some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to trigger an alarm via an alarm unit communicatively coupled to the at least one processor if an exhaust condition is determined. In some embodiments, the concentration of electrolyte vapor increases rapidly during the venting condition as compared to the concentration of electrolyte vapor during the venting condition. In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further configured to iteratively activate the heating element for an amount of time and then deactivate the heating element for a second amount of time. Further, the second amount of time is less than or equal to a predefined time interval to prevent the concentration of electrolyte vapor from exceeding a threshold level and to prevent an alarm from being triggered by the alarm unit when a leakage condition of electrolyte vapor released from the battery pack exists. In some embodiments, the amount of time the heating element is activated by the at least one processor is sufficient to evaporate electrolyte from the polymer support of the sensing element. In some embodiments, the heating element is configured to raise the temperature of the polymer support of the sensing element by a set temperature sufficient to evaporate electrolyte from the polymer support of the sensing element. In some embodiments, the polymer support is positioned and configured to absorb electrolyte vapors released from the battery. In some embodiments, the heating element comprises a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) heater. In some embodiments, the heating element is positioned to heat the polymer support by being positioned locally to, in contact with, coplanar with, or below the sensing element. In some embodiments, the predefined time interval is greater than five minutes. In another example embodiment, a method is disclosed. The method includes the steps of detecting, via a sensing element, a concentration of electrolyte vapor released from a battery, wherein the sensing element includes a polymer support, heating the polymer support to evaporate electrolyte from the polymer support via a heating element positioned with the polymer support of the sensing element, enabling the heating element for an a