US-12620638-B2 - Safety mechanisms for a rechargeable battery

US12620638B2US 12620638 B2US12620638 B2US 12620638B2US-12620638-B2

Abstract

This generally relates to one or more safety mechanisms of a rechargeable battery for light electric vehicles. The rechargeable battery may include a housing containing a battery management system and at least one battery cell, and a communication system communicatively coupled to the battery management system, where the communication system wirelessly communicates information received from the battery management system to a device external to the rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery may include a housing formed of a first clamshell member and a second clamshell member. The rechargeable battery may include a first protrusion portion extending from an interior surface of the first clamshell member and a second protrusion portion extending from the interior surface of the second clamshell member toward the first protrusion portion such that the first and second protrusion portions physically contact one another when a force is applied to an external surface of the housing.

Inventors

Mason Holden
Nicholas Foley
Andrew Titus
Ashley Cooper

Assignees

NEUTRON HOLDINGS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231005

Claims (9)

1 . A rechargeable battery, comprising: at least one battery cell; a housing containing a battery management system and the at least one battery cell; one or more sensors of the battery management system configured to detect an unsafe condition of the rechargeable battery; one or more power connectors configured to electrically connect the rechargeable battery to a light electric vehicle; and a communication system communicatively coupled to the battery management system, wherein the communication system is configured to wirelessly communicate information indicative of the unsafe condition of the rechargeable battery received from the battery management system to a server via a network communication channel.
2 . The rechargeable battery of claim 1 , wherein the communication system wirelessly communicates the information while the rechargeable battery is in a charging state.
3 . The rechargeable battery of claim 1 , wherein the communication system wirelessly communicates the information to the server while the battery management system is in an inactive state.
4 . The rechargeable battery of claim 1 , wherein the battery management system determines whether the rechargeable battery is coupled to the light electric vehicle.
5 . The rechargeable battery of claim 1 , further comprising: at least one transistor communicatively coupled to the battery management system and the at least one battery cell; and a sensor communicatively coupled to the battery management system to measure at least one attribute associated with the rechargeable battery, wherein when the at least one attribute exceeds a predetermined threshold, the battery management system changes a state of the at least one transistor.
6 . The rechargeable battery of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined threshold has a first value when the rechargeable battery is coupled to the light electric vehicle and the predetermined threshold has a second value when the rechargeable battery is not coupled to the light electric vehicle.
7 . The rechargeable battery of claim 6 , wherein the sensor is a thermistor communicatively coupled to the battery management system to determine a temperature of one or more terminals of the rechargeable battery.
8 . The rechargeable battery of claim 1 , wherein the communication system wirelessly communicates information received from the battery management system to the server using at least one of a near-field communication (NFC) protocol.
9 . The rechargeable battery of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined threshold has a first value when the rechargeable battery is coupled to the light electric vehicle and the predetermined threshold has a second value when the rechargeable battery is coupled to a battery charging kiosk.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/729,144, which is a non-provisional of and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/785,585, filed on Dec. 27, 2018, entitled “SAFETY MECHANISMS FOR A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY,” all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. BACKGROUND Electric vehicles (e.g., scooters, bicycles, etc.) are typically powered by a power source such as, for example, a rechargeable battery. In some cases, the rechargeable battery may be removably coupled to an electric vehicle. This enables a user to swap a rechargeable battery with little or no remaining power with another rechargeable battery (e.g., one that has more power or has been fully charged). However, as the rechargeable batteries are swapped, they may become damaged (e.g., by a user inadvertently dropping the rechargeable battery). SUMMARY Light electric vehicles (e.g., scooters, bicycles, etc.) are typically powered by a power source such as, for example, a rechargeable battery. In some cases, the rechargeable battery may be removably coupled to a light electric vehicle which enables an individual to swap a rechargeable battery with little or no remaining power with another rechargeable battery (e.g., one that has more power or has been fully charged). When a battery swap occurs, an individual may remove the rechargeable battery from the light electric vehicle, place the removed rechargeable battery in charging station, select a new rechargeable battery, and secure the new rechargeable battery to the light electric vehicle. However, as the individual is carrying the rechargeable battery from the light electric vehicle to the charging station, or vice versa, the individual may inadvertently drop the rechargeable battery which may damage the rechargeable battery. Additionally, rechargeable batteries for light electric vehicles are typically located outdoors. As such, the rechargeable batteries may be exposed to various weather conditions, vandalism, theft, and other damage (either intentional damage or accidental damage). Accordingly, the present application describes various safety features for a rechargeable battery that may be used with a light electric vehicle. For example, the present application describes a structure of a rechargeable battery housing and a handle for the rechargeable battery that may be removed from the rechargeable battery when a threshold amount of force is applied to the handle. The removable handle may prevent a thief from gaining sufficient leverage to pry or otherwise remove and steal the rechargeable battery from the light electric vehicle or charging station. The rechargeable battery described herein may also include an accelerometer(s) that detects or otherwise measures an acceleration of the rechargeable battery. The measurements taken by the accelerometer may be used to determine whether the rechargeable battery has been dropped or thrown. If the measurements indicate that the rechargeable battery has been dropped or thrown (e.g., so as to have caused damage to the rechargeable battery), a battery management system of the rechargeable battery may disconnect one or more battery cells of the rechargeable battery from a battery connector to prevent the battery cells from discharging and/or charging. The rechargeable battery described herein may also include one or more temperature sensing devices that detects or otherwise measures a temperature associated with one or more rechargeable battery components. The measurements taken by the temperature sensing device may be used to determine whether the rechargeable battery is experiencing an unsafe event. If the measurements indicate that the rechargeable battery is experiencing an unsafe event, a battery management system of the rechargeable battery may disconnect one or more battery cells of the rechargeable battery from a battery connector to prevent the battery cells from discharging and/or charging. The housing of the rechargeable battery may also have various safety features. For example, the housing may include various structures that improve the integrity of the housing. These structures may include various horizontal posts positioned at various points within the housing. Each of these horizontal posts act to strengthen crush resistant properties of the housing. This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples are described with reference to the following Figures. FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which a rechargeable battery kiosk receives and distribut