SYSTEMS AND METHOD OF BATTERY CHARGING ASSISTED BY HEATING

• US 20190319321A1
• Filed: 03/18/2019
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EC Power, LLC
• Original Assignee: EC Power, LLC
• Inventors: WANG, Chao-Yang
• Granted Patent: US 11,367,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0562 Solid materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/443 in response to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/615 Heating or keeping warm
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/654 located inside the innermost case of the cells, e.g. mandrels, electrodes or electrolytes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6571 Resistive heaters arrangements for heating the battery by its resistance to the internal current H01M10/637
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 12/08 composed of a half-cell of a fuel-cell type and a half-cell of the secondary-cell type
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0069 Charging or discharging for charge maintenance, battery initiation or rejuvenation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007194 of the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 Regulation of charging current or voltage

Abstract

A rapid heating-charging process for charging a rechargeable battery is disclosed. Such a process can be implemented by an integrated heating and battery system can include a rechargeable battery and a heating element in thermal contact with the at least one cell of the battery and electrically connected in series to a switch wherein the heating element and switch form a switch-heater assembly. The switch-heater assembly can be electrically connected in parallel with the battery to form a battery-switch-heater circuit. Advantageously, the battery-switch-heater circuit is configured to be directly electrically engaged with a charger so that the heating element is powered mainly by the charger and electrically connected to the battery when the heating element is powered by the charger. Such a system can be used in a charging operation to pre-heat the battery to a predetermined charging temperature which advantageously improves charge kinetics and reduce charge overpotential, thereby enabling fast charging and charging at a variety of temperatures.

Claims

1. A charging method for charging a battery, the method comprising:

a first operation which includes heating a cell of the battery at a rate of at least 5°

C./min when the battery cell is below a predetermined charge temperature (T₂); and

a second operation which includes charging the battery cell by a charger when the battery cell is at or above T₂.

2. The charging method of claim 1, wherein the first operation includes heating the battery cell by powering a heating element in thermal contact with a battery cell of the battery with the charger.

3. The charging method of claim 2, wherein the first operation includes heating the battery cell by powering the heating element with the charger with constant current, constant voltage, constant power or variable power.

4. The charging method of claim 1, wherein the first operation includes heating the battery at a rate of at least 10°

C./min.

5. The charging method of claim 1, wherein T₂ is at least 40°

C.

6. The charging method of claim 1, wherein the second operation includes charging the battery with the external power source at a constant current until reaching a voltage upper limit followed by a constant voltage at the upper limit of cell voltage until a predetermined current is reached.

7. The charging method of claim 1, further comprising determining a temperature of the battery cell and if the temperature is below T₂, initiating the first operation to heat the battery cell and if the temperature is at or above T₂, charging the battery cell.

8. An integrated heating and battery system comprising:

a rechargeable battery including at least one battery cell;

a heating element in thermal contact with the at least one battery cell and electrically connected in series to a switch to form a switch-heater assembly;

wherein the switch-heater assembly is electrically connected in parallel with the battery to form a battery-switch-heater circuit;

wherein the battery-switch-heater circuit is configured to be directly electrically engaged with a charger; and

wherein the heating element is powered mainly by the charger and electrically connected to the at least one battery cell when the heating element is mainly powered by the charger.

9. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one battery cell comprises an anode which comprises lithium metal.

10. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one battery cell comprises an anode which comprises silicon or a silicon-carbon composite.

11. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one battery cell comprises an anode and a cathode, wherein the anode comprises lithium metal and the cathode is configured to operate with air.

12. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one battery cell comprises a solid electrolyte.

13. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the at least one battery cell comprises an electrolyte containing a salt at a concentration of greater than 4 moles per liter.

14. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the heating element is located either inside the at least one battery cell or in contact with an outer surface of the at least one battery cell.

15. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the heating element comprises a resistor sheet having two major surfaces and a thickness of 1-200 micrometers.

16. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 15, wherein the resistor sheet comprises graphite, highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), stainless steel, nickel, chrome, nichrome, copper, aluminum, titanium, or combinations thereof.

17. The integrated heating and battery system according to 8, wherein the switch comprises an electromechanical relay and a temperature controller, or a solid-state relay with a temperature sensor, or a power MOSFET with a temperature sensor, or a high-current switch with a temperature sensor, or an insulated-gate bipolar transistor, or a bi-metal switch.

18. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the switch is located inside the at least one battery cell.

19. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein the switch is configured to pulse with time during a charging operation.

20. The integrated heating and battery system according to claim 8, wherein both the heating element and switch are located inside the battery cell.