Battery cell structure with limited cell penetrations
First Claim
1. A battery structure for monitoring development of impending faults of a battery cell, the battery structure comprising:
- a cell housing;
a battery cell comprising;
a battery cell separator, located within the cell housing, formed of a light transmitting material that has light transmission characteristics that are a function of a state of an impending fault of the battery cell;
a first electrode on a first side of the battery cell separator;
a second electrode on a second side of the battery cell separator;
a first cell tab connected to the first electrode and extending through and outwardly from the cell housing;
a second cell tab connected to the second electrode and extending through and outwardly from the cell housing;
a light source, located within the cell housing and external from an interior of the battery cell separator, positioned in optical communication with the battery cell separator to transmit light into said battery cell separator; and
a light detector, located within the cell housing and positioned in optical communication with the battery cell separator to receive light transmitted through the battery cell separator,wherein an impending fault state of a portion of the battery cell associated with the light detector can be determined based on the received light, andwherein the cell housing encases the battery cell and is directly adjacent to the battery cell.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Light is transmitted from a light source through or from a separator of a battery cell and received by one or more light detectors. The light that is normally transmitted through the separator is scattered, absorbed, wavelength-shifted or otherwise distorted by an impending fault in the vicinity of or within the separator. The change in light due to the impending fault is measured by a detector and a signal from the detector is processed to identify the impending fault so that a warning can be generated indicative of the impending fault. In particular, one or both of the light source and detector are enclosed within a battery cell housing and receive power from the electrodes of the battery cell.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A battery structure for monitoring development of impending faults of a battery cell, the battery structure comprising:
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a cell housing; a battery cell comprising; a battery cell separator, located within the cell housing, formed of a light transmitting material that has light transmission characteristics that are a function of a state of an impending fault of the battery cell; a first electrode on a first side of the battery cell separator; a second electrode on a second side of the battery cell separator; a first cell tab connected to the first electrode and extending through and outwardly from the cell housing; a second cell tab connected to the second electrode and extending through and outwardly from the cell housing; a light source, located within the cell housing and external from an interior of the battery cell separator, positioned in optical communication with the battery cell separator to transmit light into said battery cell separator; and a light detector, located within the cell housing and positioned in optical communication with the battery cell separator to receive light transmitted through the battery cell separator, wherein an impending fault state of a portion of the battery cell associated with the light detector can be determined based on the received light, and wherein the cell housing encases the battery cell and is directly adjacent to the battery cell. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for monitoring development of impending faults of a battery cell in a battery structure, the battery structure comprising:
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a battery cell housing which encloses the battery cell, the battery cell comprising first and second electrodes on opposite sides of a battery cell separator, the battery cell separator formed of a light transmitting material that has light transmission characteristics that are a function of a state of an impending fault of the battery cell, wherein no other housing structure is positioned between the battery cell housing and the battery cell; and first and second cell tabs connected, respectively, with the first and second electrodes and each extending through and outwardly from the battery cell housing, the method comprising; transmitting, from a light source located within the battery cell housing and external from an interior of the battery cell separator, light into said battery cell separator; receiving, at a light detector located within the battery cell housing and in optical communication with the battery cell separator, light transmitted through the battery cell separator; and determining an impending fault state of a portion of the battery cell associated with the light detector based on the received light. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification