US-12618659-B2 - Battery pack configured to determine a deformation event

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for determining a deformation event in a battery pack. The battery pack may comprise a conductive path coupled to a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector. Processing circuitry may be configured to detect a change in an electrical characteristic of the conductive path indicating a transition from a first circuit state of the conductive path to a second circuit state of the conductive path. The processing circuitry may be configured to determine, in response to the detecting, a deformation event in the battery pack.

Inventors

• Mark Pokora
• Kyle O'Neil
• Milosh Stojcic
• Long Huynh
• Vignesh Sekar
• Justin Rodenburg

Assignees

• RIVIAN IP HOLDINGS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20220705

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A battery pack, comprising: at least one layer; a conductive path coupled to a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector, wherein: the conductive path comprises a continuous loop of conductive material embedded in the at least one layer, the first electrical connector comprises a first pogo pin and the second electrical connector comprises a second pogo pin; the conductive path is coupled to the first pogo pin via a first contact pad; and the conductive path is coupled to the second pogo pin via a second contact pad; and processing circuitry configured to: detect a change in an electrical characteristic of the conductive path indicating a transition from a first circuit state of the conductive path to a second circuit state of the conductive path, wherein the conductive path is coupled to the processing circuitry via the first pogo pin and the second pogo pin; and determine, in response to the change being detected, a deformation event in the battery pack.
2. 2 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein: the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic based on a signal received via the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector, and the first circuit state is a closed circuit state of the conductive path and the second circuit state is an open circuit state of the conductive path.
3. 3 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein: the conductive path comprises: a first separate loop of conductive material; and a second separate loop of conductive material; and the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the first separate loop of conductive material or by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the second separate loop of conductive material.
4. 4 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein: the conductive path comprises: a first separate loop of conductive material; a second separate loop of conductive material; a third separate loop of conductive material; and a fourth separate loop of conductive material; and the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by detecting changes in an electrical characteristic of: the first separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the first separate loop of conductive material and the fourth separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the fourth separate loop of conductive material.
5. 5 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by: determining, based on an output signal of a digital flip-flop, a transition from a first state of the digital flip-flop to a second state of the digital flip-flop.
6. 6 . The battery pack of claim 1 , further comprising: an upper layer; a lower layer; and a middle layer disposed between the upper layer and the lower layer, the middle layer comprising the conductive path.
7. 7 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein: the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by determining that the electrical characteristic exceeds a threshold amount.
8. 8 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein the deformation event comprises a puncture or a bend and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: cause a notification to be generated for display, at a display of an electric vehicle, wherein the notification comprises an indication that the battery pack is damaged by the puncture or the bend.
9. 9 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: in response to determining the deformation event in the battery pack, determine, based on sensor data received from an isolation leakage sensor, whether isolation leakage is present; and in response to determining a presence of the isolation leakage, generate for output, at a display of an electric vehicle, a notification indicating the presence of the isolation leakage.
10. 10 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on sensor data, that water is present in the battery pack; and cause a notification to be generated for display, at a display of an electric vehicle, based on the determination that water is present and the determination of the deformation event.
11. 11 . A method comprising: detecting, by processing circuitry of a battery pack, a change in an electrical characteristic of a conductive path of the battery pack, the change indicating a transition from a first circuit state of the conductive path to a second circuit state of the conductive path, wherein: the battery pack comprises at least one layer; the conductive path comprises a continuous loop of conductive material embedded in the at least one layer; the conductive path is coupled to a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector; the first electrical connector comprises a first pogo pin and the second electrical connector comprises a second pogo pin; the conductive path is coupled to the first pogo pin via a first contact pad; and the conductive path is coupled to the second pogo pin via a second contact pad; and determining, by the processing circuitry, in response to the change being detected, a deformation event in the battery pack.
12. 12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein: the conductive path comprises: a first separate loop of conductive material; and a second separate loop of conductive material; and detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path comprises detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the first separate loop of conductive material or by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the second separate loop of conductive material.
13. 13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein: the conductive path comprises: a first separate loop of conductive material; a second separate loop of conductive material; a third separate loop of conductive material; and a fourth separate loop of conductive material; and detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path comprises detecting changes in an electrical characteristic of: the first separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the first separate loop of conductive material and the fourth separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the fourth separate loop of conductive material.
14. 14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein: detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path is performed based on a signal received via the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector, and the first circuit state is a closed circuit state of the conductive path and the second circuit state is an open circuit state of the conductive path.
15. 15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path comprises: determining, based on an output signal of a digital flip-flop, a transition from a first state of the digital flip-flop to a second state of the digital flip-flop.
16. 16 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory computer-readable instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: detect a change in an electrical characteristic of a conductive path of a battery pack, the change indicating a transition from a first circuit state of the conductive path to a second circuit state of the conductive path, wherein: the battery pack comprises at least one layer; the conductive path comprises a continuous loop of conductive material embedded in the at least one layer; the conductive path is coupled to a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector; the first electrical connector comprises a first pogo pin and the second electrical connector comprises a second pogo pin; the conductive path is coupled to the first pogo pin via a first contact pad; and the conductive path is coupled to the second pogo pin via a second contact pad; and determine, in response to the change being detected, a deformation event in the battery pack.
17. 17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the execution of the instructions causes the processor to detect the change in the electrical characteristic based on a signal received via the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector, and the first circuit state is a closed circuit state of the conductive path and the second circuit state is an open circuit state of the conductive path.
18. 18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the deformation event comprises a puncture or a bend and wherein the execution of the instructions further causes the processor to: cause a notification to be generated for display, at a display of an electric vehicle, wherein the notification comprises an indication that the battery pack is damaged by the puncture or the bend.
19. 19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein: the conductive path comprises: a first separate loop of conductive material; and a second separate loop of conductive material; and the execution of the instructions causes the processor to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the first separate loop of conductive material or by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the second separate loop of conductive material.
20. 20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein: the conductive path comprises: a first separate loop of conductive material; a second separate loop of conductive material; a third separate loop of conductive material; and a fourth separate loop of conductive material; and the execution of the instructions causes the processor to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by detecting changes in an electrical characteristic of: the first separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the first separate loop of conductive material and the fourth separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the fourth separate loop of conductive material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/226,566 filed Jul. 28, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety INTRODUCTION Electric vehicles include battery packs. Battery packs can perform a number of functions, including providing a protective enclosure to withstand impacts, routing of electrical wires, and containment in the event of a battery fire. Electric vehicles can be subjected to a wide range of operating environments. For example, electric adventure vehicles are being encouraged to be driven in off-road environments. Such electric vehicles are exposed to rough terrain, as well as water fording scenarios. In some situations, these environments may expose the battery pack to damage and may puncture the pack structure. Continuing to use an electric vehicle with battery pack damage or a puncture can lead to further damage from, for example, contaminants entering the battery pack structure. SUMMARY Accordingly, described herein are systems, methods and apparatuses configured to determine or diagnose a deformation event in a battery pack. The battery pack may comprise a conductive path coupled to a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector. The battery pack may comprise processing circuitry configured to detect a change in an electrical characteristic of the conductive path indicating a transition from a first circuit state of the conductive path to a second circuit state of the conductive path. The processing circuitry may determine, in response to the detecting, a deformation event in the battery pack. In some embodiments, In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic based on a signal received via the first and second electrical connectors. In some embodiments, the first circuit state is a closed circuit state of the conductive path and the second circuit state is an open circuit state of the conductive path. In some embodiments, the first circuit state is an open circuit state of the conductive path and the second circuit state is a closed circuit state of the conductive path. In some embodiments, the first and second electrical connectors comprise first and second pogo pins. In some embodiments, the battery pack may comprise at least one layer, and the conductive path comprises a continuous loop of conductive material embedded in the at least one layer. The conductive path may be coupled to the first pogo pin via a first contact pad, and the conductive path may be coupled to the second pogo pin via a second contact pad. The conductive path may be coupled to the processing circuitry via the first pogo pin and the second pogo pin. In some embodiments, the conductive path comprises a first separate loop of conductive material, and a second separate loop of conductive material. The processing circuitry may be configured to detect a change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the first separate loop of conductive material or by detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the second separate loop of conductive material. In some embodiments, the conductive path comprises a first separate loop of conductive material, a second separate loop of conductive material, a third separate loop of conductive material, and a fourth separate loop of conductive material. The processing circuitry may configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by detecting changes in the electrical characteristic of the first separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the first separate loop of conductive material and the fourth separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the third separate loop of conductive material; or the second separate loop of conductive material and the separate fourth separate loop of conductive material. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by determining, based on an output signal of a digital flip-flop, a transition from a first state of the digital flip-flop to a second state of the digital flip-flop. In some embodiments, the battery pack comprises an upper layer, a lower layer, and a middle layer disposed between the upper layer and the lower layer, the middle layer comprising the conductive path. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the conductive path by determining that the electrical characteristic exceeds a threshold amount. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is the processing circuitry is further configured to cause a notification to be generated for display, at a display of an electr