Thermal management of battery systems
First Claim
1. A construction for a battery, comprising:
- a plurality of units;
an intercell conductor external said plurality of units coupled between at least two of said plurality of units;
a wall surrounding said intercell conductor and said plurality of units, said wall forming a channel, said intercell conductor located in said channel; and
fluid located in the channel, wherein the fluid located in the channel controls the temperature in the battery, wherein said units are comprised of lithium cells.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An architecture, arrangement, or construction for battery systems such as monopolar and bipolar batteries is disclosed. The battery system includes a stack of bipolar or monopolar modules having current collectors extending from opposite sides of the battery system. The current collectors are located in cooling channels. The cooling channel is surrounded by an insulating material. The cooling channel contains a fluid which may be air, water, forced air, Freon® or any other media useful in heating and cooling applications. The battery may be vented or a heat exchanger may be provided in communication with the cooling channels. The thermal management system is particularly useful in applications such as electric vehicles. Heat may be provided through the cooling channels in order to raise the temperature inside the battery system.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A construction for a battery, comprising:
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a plurality of units; an intercell conductor external said plurality of units coupled between at least two of said plurality of units; a wall surrounding said intercell conductor and said plurality of units, said wall forming a channel, said intercell conductor located in said channel; and fluid located in the channel, wherein the fluid located in the channel controls the temperature in the battery, wherein said units are comprised of lithium cells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A monopolar battery, comprising:
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a plurality of monopolar modules arranged in a stacks, the stack having a first side and a second side, the stack including a first module having a negative terminal on the first side of the stack and a positive terminal on the second side of the stack, and the stack including a second module having a positive terminal on the first side of the stack and a negative terminal on the second side of the stack; a first conductor coupled to the negative terminal of the first module and the positive terminal of the second module; an insulator adjacent the first conductor, defining a cavity; and a fluid within the cavity that thermally regulates the battery. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A bipolar battery, comprising:
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a plurality of bipolar modules arranged in a stack, the stack having a first side and a second side, the stack including a first module having a negative terminal on the first Side, and the stack including and a second module having module having a negative terminal on the first side; a conductor coupled to the negative terminal of the first module and the negative terminal of the second module; an insulator located adjacent the conductor defining a cavity around the conductor; and a fluid within the cavity that thermally regulates the battery. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A battery, comprising:
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a stack comprising a first module, a second module, and a third module, the first module having a positive current collector and sharing a first shared negative current collector module with the second module, the second module sharing a shared positive current collector, with the third module; and a first wall provided over the first shared positive terminal, the first wall and the stack defining a first tunnel between the wall and the stack, the first tunnel containing a fluid, the fluid being in thermal communication with the positive shared current collector. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A battery, comprising:
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an array of modules arranged in an end-plate to end-plate configuration, each of the modules being enclosed in a module casing; end-plate current collectors extending out of the module casing of each module; and intercell conductors coupled with the end-plate current collectors wherein the end-plate current collectors are in thermal and electrical communication with the intercell conductors. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A thermal management system for a battery, comprising:
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cell packages arranged in a tower, the tower having a first current collector side, a second current collector side, a front side, a back side, a top and a bottom; current collectors provided through the cell packages on the first current collector side and the second current collector side, at least one of certain current collectors on the first current collector side being coupled to at least one of other current collectors on the first current collector side, at least one of certain current collectors on the second current collector side being coupled to at least one of other current collectors on the second current collector side, and an insulating means for insulating the first current collectors and the second current collectors, the insulating means surrounding the current collectors on the first current collector side and the second current collector side, the insulating means being partitioned into channels, the channels containing a fluid for thermal governance of the current collectors. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for manufacturing a battery, comprising the steps of:
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providing current collectors through opposite ends of battery modules; stacking the battery modules so that the battery modules are configured in an arrangement with the current collectors extending from a first side and a second side of the arrangement; coupling at least one of the current collectors to at least one other current collector external of the arrangement; containing certain current collectors in channels the channels including a fluid. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
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37. An arrangement for a battery, comprising:
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a plurality of module packages, each enclosed by a module wall, and each module package having a positive current collector and a negative current collector; at least one intercell conductor electrically coupled to at least two certain current collectors of the positive current collectors and the negative current collectors; channel dividers coupled to said plurality of cell packages; a main enclosure surrounding the module packages, the intercell conductors, and the channel dividers, the main enclosure, the module walls, and the channel dividers forming flow channels; and wherein the intercell conductor is located in one of the flow channels; and wherein the at least one intercell conductor couples the positive current collector of one of the module packages to the positive current collector of another of the module packages; and wherein the module packages include a plurality of bipolar cells coupled in series. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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Specification