# US 10,374,266 B2 · Wireless traction battery force sensor

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- Number: US 10,374,266 B2
- Document ID: US10374266B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/151,781
- Filed: 2016-05-11
- Published: 2017-11-16
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2016-05-11
- Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Inventors: Arnold Kweku Mensah-Brown; Richard Dyche Anderson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10374266B2

## CPC

- H01M 10/445: {in response to gas pressure}
- B60L 3/0046: {relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors}
- B60L 50/64: Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
- B60L 53/00: Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
- B60L 53/14: Conductive energy transfer
- B60L 58/12: responding to state of charge [SoC]
- B60L 58/20: having different nominal voltages
- G01L 11/04: by acoustic means
- G01R 31/382: Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
- H01M 10/04: Construction or manufacture in general (H01M10/058, H01M10/12, H01M10/28, H01M10/38 take precedence)
- H01M 10/4257: {Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries}
- H01M 10/46: Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus (circuits for charging H02J7/00)
- H01M 10/482: {for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially}
- H01M 50/209: adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells (H01M50/216 takes precedence)
- H01M 50/249: specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains (constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64)
- H02J 7/00: Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J 7/60: including safety or protection arrangements
- B60L 50/15: with additional electric power supply (with capacitors charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/40; with batteries charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/61)
- B60L 2240/54: related to batteries
- B60L 2240/545: Temperature
- H01M 2010/4271: {Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing}
- H01M 2010/4278: {Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller}
- H01M 2220/20: Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
- H02J 7/61: against overcharge
- Y02E 60/10: Energy storage using batteries
- Y02P 70/50: Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
- Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
- Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
- Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles
- Y10S 903/907: Electricity storage, e.g. battery, capacitor
- H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- G01L: MEASURING FORCE, STRESS, TORQUE, WORK, MECHANICAL POWER, MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY, OR FLUID PRESSURE (weighing G01G)
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)
- H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

## Abstract

A traction battery of a vehicle includes a temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor within the traction battery and a controller. The temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor is configured to receive a broadcast signal and transmit a reflected signal. The controller is programmed to transmit the broadcast signal and receive the reflected signal, and based on a difference in phase and amplitude between the broadcast and reflected signals indicative of an increase in pressure within the traction battery, stop charging the traction battery.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A battery system comprising:
a temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor within a battery configured to receive a broadcast signal and transmit reflected signals; and
a controller configured to initiate transmission of the broadcast signal, and based on detected differences in phase and amplitude between the broadcast signal and reflected signals from the sensor indicative of an increase in pressure within the battery during charging of the battery, stop the charging.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The battery system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of prismatic battery cells having planar electrodes arranged such that the planar electrodes are generally parallel with a longitudinal axis and lateral axis of the surface acoustic wave sensor.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The battery system of claim 2 further including additional temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors within the battery, wherein a total number of the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors is less than a total number of the prismatic battery cells.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The battery system of claim 3, wherein the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors are tuned to a base frequency, and each of the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors includes a reflector that is configured to produce a uniquely encoded reflected pulse from the broadcast signal at the base frequency.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The battery system of claim 3, wherein each of the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors includes a. reflector that is configured to produce a reflected signal that is orthogonal frequency encoded.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The battery system of claim 1, wherein the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor includes a 3 f0 interdigitated transducer.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The battery system of claim 1, wherein the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor includes a plurality of reflectors, and wherein a total number of the reflectors is less than 11.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The battery system of claim 1, wherein the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor is configured with a base frequency greater than 100 MHz.

### Claim 9

A method of operating a battery in a vehicle comprising:
by a controller,
initiating transmission of a broadcast signal to a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor, and
charging the battery according to a detected difference between the broadcast signal and corresponding reflected signals from the SAW sensor indicative of a pressure within the battery.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the difference is a difference in phase and amplitude between the broadcast and corresponding reflected signals.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising terminating the charging responsive to the difference exceeding a threshold.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the broadcast signal has a base frequency of less than 2 GHz.

### Claim 13 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9 further including decoding, using an orthogonal frequency coding algorithm, the corresponding reflected signals.

### Claim 14

A vehicle battery system comprising:
a temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor within a battery configured to receive a broadcast signal and transmit a reflected signal; and
a controller configured to initiate transmission of the broadcast signal, and responsive to a detected difference in phase and amplitude between the broadcast signal and a reflected signal from the sensor indicative of a pressure within the battery exceeding a threshold, charge the battery.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The vehicle battery system of claim 14 further comprising a plurality of prismatic battery cells having planar electrodes arranged such that the planar electrodes are generally parallel with a longitudinal axis and lateral axis of the surface acoustic wave sensor.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The vehicle battery system of claim 15 further including additional temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors within the battery, wherein a total number of the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors is less than a total number of the prismatic battery cells.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The vehicle battery system of claim 16, wherein each of the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensors includes a reflector that is configured to produce a reflected signal that is orthogonal frequency encoded.

### Claim 18 (depends on 14)

The vehicle battery system of claim 14, wherein the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor includes a 3f0 interdigitated transducer.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The vehicle battery system of claim 18, wherein the 3f0 interdigitated transducer is constructed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

### Claim 20 (depends on 14)

The vehicle battery system of claim 14, wherein the temperature compensated passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensor includes a Y-cut, z-propagating LiNbO3 substrate.