Battery systems having pressure sensing battery management system and battery cells for preventing battery fires, and applications thereof
AssigneeVLTRU Systems, LLC
InventorVirgil L. BEASTON
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Sensors and circuits for batteries are provided that prevent battery fires. The sensors and circuits are part of a battery management system that detects battery cell swelling and changes in the internal pressure of battery cells and removes the battery cells from service before they vent and catch on fire or explode. The sensors and circuits continually monitor every battery cell for swelling/increases in internal pressure that are indicative of the formation of flammable and explosive gases within the battery cells, and a battery management system that includes one or more of the sensors and circuits removes battery cells with issues from service before they vent and catch on fire or explode.
Claims8
A system for monitoring pressure within a battery module having a plurality battery cells, the system comprising:
- a substrate;
- a pressure measuring current source situated on the substrate, the pressure measuring current source being configured to generate a pressure measuring current;
- a multiplexer situated on the substrate, the multiplexer being configured to cycle through a plurality of strain gauges that are associated with the plurality of battery cells, wherein, for each cycle, the multiplexer is configured to sense a corresponding pressure measuring voltage across a corresponding electrical resistance of a corresponding strain gauge from among the purity of strain gauges, and
- an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) situated on the substrate, the ADC being configured to convert the corresponding pressure measuring voltage from a representation in an analog signal domain to a representation in a digital signal domain.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.