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EP-4738563-A1 - BATTERY STORAGE BODY AND BATTERY PACK

EP4738563A1EP 4738563 A1EP4738563 A1EP 4738563A1EP-4738563-A1

Abstract

Battery container 1 includes enclosure 11 having air inlet 11a and air outlet 11b for housing at least one battery cell 2, air mover 14 that generates a flow of air inside enclosure 11 from air inlet 11a toward air outlet 11b, and oxygen remover 15 that removes oxygen from the air flowing into enclosure 11 through air inlet 11a.

Inventors

  • AIBA, KENTA

Assignees

  • Organo Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240619

Claims (20)

  1. A battery container comprising: an enclosure having an air inlet and an air outlet for housing at least one battery cell; an air mover that generates a flow of air inside the enclosure from the air inlet toward the air outlet; and an oxygen remover that removes oxygen from the air flowing into the enclosure through the air inlet.
  2. The battery container of claim 1, further comprising: an intake pipe having one end connected to the air inlet; and an exhaust pipe having one end connected to the air outlet, wherein the air mover is installed inside the enclosure, in the intake pipe, or in the exhaust pipe, and the oxygen remover is installed in the intake pipe.
  3. The battery container of claim 2, further comprising a circulation pipe formed of the intake pipe and the exhaust pipe having another end connected to another end of the intake pipe, for circulating air inside the enclosure.
  4. The battery container of claim 1, wherein the oxygen remover is installed on the enclosure and has an inlet and an outlet that in direct communication with the air outlet and the air inlet, respectively, to allow air inside the enclosure to be circulated.
  5. The battery container of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a controller for controlling the air mover.
  6. The battery container of claim 5, further comprising an oxygen sensor that detects an oxygen concentration inside the enclosure, wherein the controller controls the air mover to adjust a flow rate of the air flowing into the enclosure so that the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor is less than a limiting oxygen concentration for flammable gas to be generated from the at least one battery cell.
  7. The battery container of claim 5, further comprising a gas sensor that detects a presence or concentration of flammable gas in the enclosure, wherein the controller controls the air mover to adjust a flow rate of the air flowing into the enclosure so that the concentration of the flammable gas detected by the gas sensor is less than a lower flammability limit.
  8. The battery container of claim 5, further comprising an oxygen sensor that detects an oxygen concentration inside the enclosure, wherein the controller activates the air mover to generate the flow of air when the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor becomes or is likely to become equal to or greater than a limiting oxygen concentration for flammable gas to be generated from the at least one battery cell.
  9. The battery container of claim 5, further comprising a pressure sensor that detects a pressure inside the enclosure, and a pressure regulator that is controlled by the controller based on a detection result of the pressure sensor to adjust the pressure inside the enclosure.
  10. The battery container of claim 5, wherein the oxygen remover is assigned an identifier containing identification information of the oxygen remover, and wherein the controller determines, based on the identification information read from the identifier, whether the oxygen remover meets a predetermined condition.
  11. The battery container of claim 5, further comprising a temperature sensor that detects a temperature inside the enclosure, and a temperature regulator that is controlled by the controller based on a detection result of the temperature sensor to adjust the temperature inside the enclosure.
  12. The battery container of claim 5, wherein the controller predicts a life of the oxygen remover based at least on a usage status of the air mover.
  13. The battery container of claim 5, wherein the controller acquires location information and transmits the location information acquired as well as at least a usage status of the air mover to an outside.
  14. The battery container of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a flammable gas remover that removes flammable gas generated from the at least one battery cell and discharged from the air outlet by the flow of air.
  15. The battery container of claim 2 or 3, wherein the intake pipe, the exhaust pipe, the air mover, and the oxygen remover are detachably attached to the enclosure.
  16. The battery container of claim 2 or 3, wherein the enclosure includes a plurality of container rooms each for housing a battery cell, and wherein the one end of the intake pipe and the one end of the exhaust pipe are each branched into a plurality of sections to be connected to the plurality of container rooms.
  17. The battery container of claim 16, further comprising: at least one oxygen sensor that detects oxygen concentrations inside the plurality of container rooms; and a controller that selects, from among the plurality of container rooms, a container room inside which the flow of air is to be generated based on a detection result of the at least one oxygen sensor.
  18. A battery pack comprising: at least one battery cell; the battery container of any one of claims 1 to 4; and a controller for controlling the at least one battery cell.
  19. The battery pack of claim 18, wherein the battery container includes an oxygen sensor that detects an oxygen concentration inside the enclosure, and wherein the controller limits or stops an output of the at least one battery cell when the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen sensor becomes or is likely to become equal to or greater than a limiting oxygen concentration for flammable gas to be generated from the at least one battery cell.
  20. The battery pack of claim 18, wherein the battery container has at least one of a temperature sensor that detects a temperature inside the enclosure and a gas sensor that detects a presence of flammable gas in the enclosure, and wherein the controller adjusts, based on a detection result of at least one of the temperature sensor and the gas sensor, an output of the at least one battery cell.

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a battery container and a battery pack. Background Art In recent years, sulfide-based solid electrolytes that exhibit high ionic conductivity have been developed as solid electrolytes for use in all-solid-state batteries. On the other hand, sulfide-based solid electrolytes can react with moisture to generate hydrogen sulfide, and therefore countermeasures against such hydrogen sulfide are an issue for the practical application of all-solid-state batteries using sulfide-based solid electrolytes. Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which a hydrogen sulfide remover is installed in a communication opening between the inside and outside of an enclosure that houses battery cells, thereby efficiently remove hydrogen sulfide that can be generated in the enclosure without increasing the thickness or volume of the battery cell. Citation List Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: JP 2018-73802 A Summary of Invention Technical Problem However, the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 does not consider the effects of continuous hydrogen sulfide generation at all. Specifically, it does not consider the possibility that, if the hydrogen sulfide concentration inside the enclosure increases to a certain level, hydrogen sulfide which is a flammable gas may react with oxygen to burn. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a battery container and a battery pack that prevent the combustion of flammable gas even if it is generated therein. Solution to Problem To achieve the above object, a battery container of the present invention includes an enclosure having an air inlet and an air outlet for housing at least one battery cell, an air mover that generates a flow of air inside the enclosure from the air inlet toward the air outlet, and an oxygen remover that removes oxygen from the air flowing into the enclosure through the air inlet. In addition, a battery pack of the present invention includes at least one battery cell, the battery container described above, and a controller for controlling the at least one battery cell. According to the battery container and the battery pack, the oxygen concentration inside the enclosure can be lowered by the action of the air mover and the oxygen remover. This reduces the possibility that flammable gas will react with oxygen in the enclosure to burn, even if flammable gas is generated from the battery cell and its concentration inside the enclosure increases to a certain level. Advantageous Effects of Invention As described above, the present invention can prevent the combustion of flammable gas even if it is generated in the battery container and the battery pack. Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a battery pack according to a first embodiment of the present invention;FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a battery pack according to a second embodiment of the present invention;FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a battery pack according to a third embodiment of the present invention;FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a battery pack according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; andFIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a battery pack according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Description of Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Components common to the embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and a repetitive explanation will be omitted as appropriate. Furthermore, as may be mentioned again below, the characteristic components and variations in each embodiment may be applied to other embodiments as long as they do not conflict therewith. In the following embodiments, an all-solid-state battery containing a sulfide-based solid electrolyte is exemplified as a battery cell from which flammable gas can be generated, and hydrogen sulfide is exemplified as the flammable gas covered by the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the flammable gas covered by the present invention may be a flammable gas other than hydrogen sulfide that is generated by an all-solid-state battery containing a sulfide-based solid electrolyte, and may be, for example, sulfur (including allotropes such as S, S2, and S8). Alternatively, it may be a flammable gas generated by other types of batteries, such as hydrogen, methane, ethane, ethylene, or carbon monoxide generated by lithium-ion batteries, or hydrogen generated by aqueous batteries such as aqueous lithium-ion batteries or zinc negative electrode batteries. On the other hand, the flammable gas covered by the present invention may also be a vapor of an organic solvent used in the non-aqueous electrolyte of a lithium-ion battery. Examples of the organic solvent include ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, fluoroethylene car