Electric batteries
AssigneeDukosi Limited
InventorJoel SYLVESTER
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to an electric battery (10). The electric battery (10) comprises plural battery cells (12), with each battery cell comprising a container. The container contains an electrochemical arrangement. Each battery cell (12) comprises positive and negative terminals of sheet form which extend from the electrochemical arrangement. The electric battery further comprises plural measurement arrangements (14), with each of the plural measurement arrangements being electrically coupled to each of two spaced apart locations on one of the positive and negative terminals of a respective one of the plural battery cells. Each of the plural measurement arrangements (14) is configured to measure potential difference between the two spaced apart locations.
Claims21
An electric battery comprising:
- plural battery cells, each battery cell comprising a container, which contains an electrochemical arrangement, and positive and negative terminals of sheet form extending from the electrochemical arrangement;
- and
- plural measurement arrangements, each of the plural measurement arrangements being electrically coupled to each of two spaced apart locations on one of the positive and negative terminals of a respective one of the plural battery cells, each of the plural measurement arrangements being configured to measure potential difference between the two spaced apart locations.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the terminal is of predetermined width and thickness and the measurement arrangement is electrically coupled to the terminal at two locations which are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined amount whereby the resistance of the terminal between the two locations is predetermined.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising first and second bus bars to which the positive and negative terminals of the plural battery cells are electrically connected, the electric battery being configured such that one of the two locations at which the measurement arrangement is electrically coupled to the terminal is one of the first and second bus bars.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each of the positive and negative terminals has the form of a foil.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a proximal end of each of the positive and negative terminals is electrically coupled to a respective electrode of the electrochemical arrangement, the electric battery being configured such that each of the positive and negative terminals extends from its respective electrode to outside the container without compromising a seal formed by the container.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims comprising plural sets of battery cells, each set of battery cells comprising plural battery cells, each set of battery cells comprising a measurement arrangement, the plural battery cells within a set of battery cells being connected to each other in parallel, the measurement arrangement being configured to measure a potential difference across a combined resistance of terminals within the set of battery cells.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a battery cell comprises two measurement arrangements with each of the two measurement arrangements being electrically coupled to each of two spaced apart locations on a respective one of the positive and negative terminals of the battery cell.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the measurement arrangement comprises an analogue to digital converter and a processor, the analogue to digital converter being configured to convert measured potential difference from analogue form to digital form and the processor being configured to convert the measured potential difference of digital form to measured current.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the measurement arrangement is further configured to measure battery cell voltage.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the measurement arrangement further comprises a communications circuit which is configured to convey at least one of data to and data from at least one of a supervisory processor comprised in the electric battery or a measurement arrangement comprised in another battery cell.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the measurement arrangement is unitary with the battery cell.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a circuit board, which comprises the measurement arrangement, the circuit board being mechanically coupled to the battery cell such that the measurement arrangement couples electrically to the two spaced apart locations on the terminal.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a carrier which is configured to support the battery cell, the carrier comprising the measurement arrangement, the measurement arrangement, the battery cell and the carrier being unitarily formed.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a battery cell comprises at least one pouch cell, each pouch cell comprising an electrochemical arrangement.
The electric battery according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the electrochemical arrangement comprises a lithium-ion polymer electrochemical arrangement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.