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US-12618740-B2 - Measuring arrangement for gas monitoring for an energy storage of a motor vehicle, energy storage arrangement for a motor vehicle and method for operating a measuring arrangement

US12618740B2US 12618740 B2US12618740 B2US 12618740B2US-12618740-B2

Abstract

A measuring arrangement for gas monitoring for an energy storage of a motor vehicle, which includes at least one battery cell. The measuring arrangement has a gas sensor unit which includes at least one first sensor. The gas sensor unit is designed to detect a gas leak from the at least one battery cell. In particular, the measuring arrangement is designed in such a way that at least in a first operating state of the gas sensor unit, at least the first sensor can be woken up from an inactive idle state for carrying out at least one measurement and can be put back into the inactive idle state after the at least one measurement has been carried out.

Inventors

  • Simon Stoll

Assignees

  • AUDI AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20231101
Priority Date
20221109

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . A measuring arrangement for gas monitoring for an energy storage of a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one battery cell, wherein the measuring arrangement has a gas sensor unit which comprises at least one first sensor, wherein the gas sensor unit is designed to detect a gas leak from the at least one battery cell, wherein the measuring arrangement is designed in such a way that at least in a first operating state of the gas sensor unit, at least the first sensor can be woken up from an inactive idle state for carrying out at least one measurement and can be put back into the inactive idle state after the at least one measurement has been carried out, wherein the gas sensor unit comprises a plurality of sensors including the first sensor and at least one second sensor, wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that at least the first sensor is woken up repeatedly in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, at predetermined first time intervals, in order to carry out a measurement, and wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that, in a second operating state of the gas sensor unit, the at least one second sensor is woken up repeatedly at predetermined second time intervals to carry out a measurement, the predetermined second time intervals being different from the predetermined first time intervals.
  2. 2 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that at least the first sensor is woken up in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit in response to a wake-up signal, in order to carry out the measurement.
  3. 3 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 2 , wherein the measuring arrangement has a control device which is designed to wake up at least the first sensor in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, and to provide the wake-up signal depending on the detection of a specific event, wherein the specific event represents a predetermined temperature increase detected by a temperature sensor of the measuring arrangement, and/or represents an exceeding of a predetermined limit temperature detected by a temperature sensor of the measuring arrangement; and/or represents an accident detected by a crash sensor of the measuring arrangement, and/or represents a specific characteristic of a current or a voltage of the at least one battery cell and/or energy storage, detected by means of a current and/or voltage sensor.
  4. 4 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 2 , wherein the gas sensor unit has several different sensors comprising the first sensor, which are designed to detect at least one of the following events and/or variables: an occurrence of a carbon oxide and/or a concentration of a carbon oxide; an occurrence of hydrogen and/or a concentration of hydrogen; an occurrence of ammonia and/or a concentration of ammonia; a temperature; and a gas pressure.
  5. 5 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 2 , wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that, at least in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, all of the sensors included in the gas sensor unit can be woken up from an inactive idle state in order to carry out at least one respective measurement simultaneously, and after carrying out the respective at least one measurement can be put back into the inactive idle state simultaneously.
  6. 6 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring arrangement has a control device which is designed to wake up at least the first sensor in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, and to provide a wake-up signal depending on the detection of a specific event, wherein the specific event represents a predetermined temperature increase detected by a temperature sensor of the measuring arrangement, and/or represents an exceeding of a predetermined limit temperature detected by a temperature sensor of the measuring arrangement; and/or represents an accident detected by a crash sensor of the measuring arrangement, and/or represents a specific characteristic of a current or a voltage of the at least one battery cell and/or energy storage, detected by means of a current and/or voltage sensor.
  7. 7 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 6 , wherein the gas sensor unit has several different sensors comprising the first sensor, which are designed to detect at least one of the following events and/or variables: an occurrence of a carbon oxide and/or a concentration of a carbon oxide; an occurrence of hydrogen and/or a concentration of hydrogen; an occurrence of ammonia and/or a concentration of ammonia; a temperature; and a gas pressure.
  8. 8 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 6 , wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that, at least in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, all of the sensors included in the gas sensor unit can be woken up from an inactive idle state in order to carry out at least one respective measurement simultaneously, and after carrying out the respective at least one measurement can be put back into the inactive idle state simultaneously.
  9. 9 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the gas sensor unit has several different sensors comprising the first sensor, which are designed to detect at least one of the following events and/or variables: an occurrence of a carbon oxide and/or a concentration of a carbon oxide; an occurrence of hydrogen and/or a concentration of hydrogen; an occurrence of ammonia and/or a concentration of ammonia; a temperature; and a gas pressure.
  10. 10 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 9 , wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that, at least in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, all of the sensors included in the gas sensor unit can be woken up from an inactive idle state in order to carry out at least one respective measurement simultaneously, and after carrying out the respective at least one measurement can be put back into the inactive idle state simultaneously.
  11. 11 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that, at least in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, all of the sensors included in the gas sensor unit can be woken up from an inactive idle state in order to carry out at least one respective measurement simultaneously, and after carrying out the respective at least one measurement can be put back into the inactive idle state simultaneously.
  12. 12 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that, at least in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, all sensors included in the gas sensor unit can be woken up to carry out at least one respective measurement from an inactive idle state, (i) according to different, specified criteria and/or (ii) independently of each other.
  13. 13 . The measuring arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein, in the second operating state of the gas sensor unit, the first and second sensors are woken up at least partially with a time offset from one another.
  14. 14 . An energy storage arrangement with an energy storage for a motor vehicle and with a measuring arrangement according to claim 1 .
  15. 15 . A method for operating a measuring arrangement for gas monitoring for an energy storage of a motor vehicle, which comprises at least one battery cell, wherein the measuring arrangement has a gas sensor unit which comprises at least one first sensor, wherein the gas sensor unit is designed to detect a gas leak from the at least one battery cell, wherein at least in a first operating state of the gas sensor unit, at least the first sensor is woken up from an inactive idle state for carrying out at least one measurement and is put back into the inactive idle state after the at least one measurement has been carried out, wherein the gas sensor unit comprises a plurality of sensors including the first sensor and at least one second sensor, wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that at least the first sensor is woken up repeatedly in the first operating state of the gas sensor unit, at predetermined first time intervals, in order to carry out a measurement, and wherein the measuring arrangement is designed such that, in a second operating state of the gas sensor unit, the at least one second sensor is woken up repeatedly at predetermined second time intervals to carry out a measurement, the predetermined second time intervals being different from the predetermined first time intervals.

Description

FIELD The invention relates to a measuring arrangement for gas monitoring for an energy storage of a motor vehicle, which comprises at least one battery cell, wherein the measuring arrangement has a gas sensor unit which comprises at least one first sensor, wherein the gas sensor unit is designed to detect a gas leak from the at least one battery cell. Furthermore, the invention also relates to an energy storage arrangement for a motor vehicle and a method for operating a measuring arrangement. BACKGROUND Such a gas sensor unit, which is also sometimes referred to as a gas sensor or thermal runaway sensor, can be used in an energy storage to detect a thermal runaway, namely an uncontrolled thermal runaway, or the beginning of such a thermal runaway of one or more battery cells. In particular, a gas leak from the battery cell can be detected using such a sensor. If gas leaks from the battery or a battery cell, a fire is very likely to occur. This advantageously makes it possible to initiate countermeasures at an early stage, in particular before such a fire has developed. A traction battery with a gas sensor is also described, for example, in DE 10 2020 102 561 B3. In principle, a thermal runaway of a battery cell can occur at any time, namely not only when driving, but also when the motor vehicle is inactive, for example at night and/or during a charging process. Accordingly, such gas sensors for gas monitoring in the energy storage are kept in continuous operation, whereby the gas sensor is permanently switched on and also continuously carries out measurements. This means that any gas leakage from a battery cell can be detected at any time. On the other hand, however, this leads to very high power consumption and the overall service life of the gas sensor is also severely limited. Furthermore, it is known from DE 10 2015 115 695 A1 that a device in a motor vehicle can be operated in a so-called wake mode, in which it is fully functional, and can be operated in a sleep mode, which is also called stand-by mode and in which the device is operated with a sleep current that is lower than the wake current. If the device is operated by a user, this operation of the device should also be recognized by the device in sleep mode in order to be able to switch back to wake mode. However, the functionality of a gas sensor for gas monitoring in an energy storage is not only required every now and then, but permanently in order to be able to detect a gas leak from a battery cell at any time. SUMMARY The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a measuring arrangement, an energy storage arrangement and a method which allow the most energy-efficient but at the same time safe operation of a gas sensor unit. A measuring arrangement according to the invention for gas monitoring for an energy storage of a motor vehicle, which comprises at least one battery cell, has a gas sensor unit which comprises at least one first sensor, wherein the gas sensor unit is designed to detect a gas leak from the at least one battery cell. The measuring arrangement is designed in such a way that at least in a first operating state of the gas sensor unit, at least the first sensor can be woken up from an inactive idle state for carrying out at least one measurement and can be put back into the inactive idle state after the at least one measurement has been carried out. The invention is based on the knowledge that there can be longer periods of time, in particular several minutes or more, between a gas leak from a battery cell and the occurrence of a battery fire. In order to detect a gas leak in a timely manner and to be able to initiate a countermeasure before the fire occurs, it is not necessary to carry out high-frequency, quasi-permanent gas monitoring. Accordingly, it is sufficient, for example, to wake up the at least one sensor from an idle state every now and then to carry out a measurement, for example every few minutes or if, based on other sensor measurements, of which a large number are typically carried out in an energy storage, in particular also using other sensors, there is a suspicion that gas could be leaking or is leaking from a battery cell. This advantageously makes it possible to save enormous amounts of energy, since the first sensor of the gas sensor unit does not have to be permanently active and constantly carry out measurements. Nevertheless, security is not compromised. In addition, the service life of the gas sensor unit can also be increased. If, for example, abnormalities are detected during gas monitoring, the gas sensor unit can also be transferred to a second operating state, in which measurements are then carried out, for example, more frequently or permanently using the first sensor. In principle, in addition to the first operating state, a second operating state can also be provided, in which the gas sensor unit is in continuous operation or in the permanent wake state, and accordingly continuous