Patent Application
20240405396
The present disclosure relates generally to a battery management system (BMS) and, more particularly, to a cabinet including an insulating terminal plate.
Battery modules in a battery cabinet, such as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) cabinet, are commonly connected in series using busbars to provide a desired voltage. Because typical batteries have consistently charged terminals, operators must be cautious to avoid short circuits, which could present a safety hazard and harm the system. There is therefore a need to develop systems and methods to address these needs.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet including an enclosure; a plurality of racks for securing a plurality of batteries within the enclosure; and a plurality of terminal plates for at least some of the plurality of batteries, each of the plurality of terminal plates including a baseplate; a positive terminal opening in the baseplate providing access to a positive terminal of a corresponding one of the plurality of batteries; a negative terminal opening in the baseplate providing access to a negative terminal of a corresponding battery of the plurality of batteries; and one or more raised insulating features between the positive terminal opening and the negative terminal opening.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of a width or a composition of at least one of the one or more raised insulating features is selected to prevent an electrical short between conductors on opposing sides of the at least one of the one or more raised insulating features for a selected voltage range.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where the selected voltage range has an upper limit greater than a combined voltage of a selected number of batteries.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of a position, design, or orientation of the one or more raised insulating features on a corresponding one of the plurality of terminal plates is selected to prevent contact of a busbar connected to one of the positive or negative terminals of any of the plurality of batteries with a busbar connected to another of the positive or negative terminals of another of the plurality of batteries.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of the one or more raised insulating features of a first terminal plate of the plurality of terminal plates forms a gap when combined with another one of the one or more raised insulating features of a second terminal plate of the plurality of terminal plates, where the gap provides a space for placement of a busbar between the first terminal plate and the second terminal plate.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of the one or more raised insulating features of at least one of the plurality of terminal plates is oriented at a diagonal relative to a line connecting the positive terminal opening and the negative terminal opening.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of the one or more raised insulating features of at least one of the plurality of terminal plates is oriented orthogonal to a line connecting the positive terminal opening and the negative terminal opening.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of the one or more raised insulating features of at least one of the plurality of terminal plates is formed from at least one of plastic, glass, or ceramic.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of the plurality of terminal plates and the corresponding one or more raised insulating features are formed as a single monolithic component.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a battery cabinet, where at least one of the plurality of terminal plates and the corresponding one or more raised insulating features are formed as formed from two or more joined components.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate including a baseplate; a positive terminal opening in the baseplate providing access to a positive terminal of a battery; a negative terminal opening in the baseplate providing access to a negative terminal of the battery; and one or more raised insulating features between the positive terminal opening and the negative terminal opening.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where at least one of a width or a composition of the one or more raised insulating features is selected to prevent an electrical short between conductors on opposing sides of the one or more raised insulating features for a selected voltage range.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where the selected voltage range has an upper limit greater than a combined voltage of a selected number of batteries.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where at least one of a position, design, or orientation of at least one of the one or more raised insulating features on the terminal plate is selected to prevent contact of a busbar connected to one of the positive or negative terminals of the battery with a busbar connected to another of the positive or negative terminals of the battery.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where the terminal plate is a first terminal plate, where the one or more raised insulating features of the first terminal plate forms a gap when combined with one or more raised insulating features of a second terminal plate, where the gap provides a space for placement of a busbar between the first terminal plate and the second terminal plate.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where the one or more raised insulating features are oriented at a diagonal relative to a line connecting the positive terminal opening and the negative terminal opening.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where the one or more raised insulating features are oriented orthogonal to a line connecting the positive terminal opening and the negative terminal opening.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where the one or more raised insulating features are formed from at least one of plastic, glass, or ceramic.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where the terminal plate and the one or more raised insulating features are formed as a single monolithic component.
In embodiments, the techniques described herein relate to a terminal plate, where the terminal plate and the one or more raised insulating features are formed as two or more joined components.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not necessarily restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures.
Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with respect to certain embodiments and specific features thereof. The embodiments set forth herein are taken to be illustrative rather than limiting. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods providing a battery cabinet with an insulating terminal plate to increase operator safety when connecting batteries together.
In some embodiments, an energy management system includes a cabinet with multiple batteries, which may be controlled by a battery management system (BMS). Such a system may be operated as, but is not limited to, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). In a general sense, the batteries may be connected or arranged in any suitable manner. However, in some applications, it may be desirable to connect multiple batteries in series to provide a higher voltage than a voltage generated by any of the batteries individually. In some embodiments, the energy management system includes one or more terminal plates located on the cabinet near the terminals of the batteries, where the terminal plates each include a positive terminal opening and a negative terminal opening for the terminals of a corresponding battery (or connections to the terminals a corresponding battery) and a raised insulating feature between the positive and negative terminal openings. In this way, the raised insulating feature may help prevent or decrease the chance of electrical shorts when installing busbars between the terminals of various batteries. For example, the raised insulating feature may prevent a busbar attached at one end to one terminal from swinging and making contact with another terminal, busbar, or unintended surface.
Referring now to
In some embodiments, an energy management system 100 includes a battery management system (BMS) 102 connected to one or more batteries 104. The energy management system 100 may include any number or type of batteries 104 such as, but not limited to, lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, or lead acid. Further, a battery 104 may be formed as a single unit or as multiple units connected in either series or parallel. For example, a battery 104 may be formed as a rack of battery sub-units.
In some embodiments, any of the batteries 104 may include components to perform various functions such as, but not limited to, monitoring, control, or communications. For example, a battery 104 may include one or more sensors to monitor properties such as, but not limited to, charge, a charging state, a voltage, incoming or outgoing current, temperature, or predicted lifespan. As another example, a battery 104 may include charging circuitry to control charge/discharge rates, circuitry to prevent over-voltage, over-current, or over-temperature conditions, or the like.
The BMS 102 may include any type of battery management or control system known in the art and may perform a variety of operations. In some embodiments, the BMS 102 may monitor various aspects of any of the batteries 104 including, but not limited to, a charge, a charging state, a voltage, incoming or outgoing current, temperature, or predicted lifespan. In some embodiments, the BMS 102 may perform various control functions such as, but not limited to, load balancing between batteries 104, charging control, over-voltage protection, over-current protection, or over-heating protection. In some embodiments, the BMS 102 may communicate with additional systems, such as, but not limited to, an external control system, an additional BMS 102, the batteries 104, or the like. For example, the BMS 102 may receive power supply data associated with available power or predicted power availability, load data associated with current or predicted load conditions, data from any of the batteries 104, or the like. Accordingly, the BMS 102 may include one or more internal controllers (not shown), sensors, communication systems, or the like to perform the various functions.
In some embodiments, the energy management system 100 includes one or more cabinets 106 providing an enclosure to secure and/or house various components such as, but not limited to, the BMS 102 or any of the batteries 104. For example, a cabinet 106 may include one or more racks (e.g., a rack system) and may further include various openings, platforms, rails, guides, or the like suitable for housing the various components within an enclosure. As will be described in greater detail below, a cabinet 106 may further include components suitable for providing electrical connections with or between any installed components.
In some embodiments, the cabinet 106 further includes one or more terminals to provide electrical connections between various components within the energy management system 100 and/or to external systems. For example, the terminals may provide connections to the batteries 104 to be managed by the BMS 102. As another example, the terminals may provide connections to external systems such as, but not limited to, an electrical grid 108, a power source 110 (e.g., solar energy source, a wind energy source, or the like), or a load 112.
The energy management system 100 may provide a variety of different functions, which may be managed at least in part by the BMS 102. In some embodiments, the energy management system 100 operates as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). In this configuration, the load 112 may be powered by any combination of a grid 108 or a power source 110 under typical conditions, but may be powered by the batteries 104 when the grid 108 and/or the power source 110 provide insufficient power. Further, the batteries 104 may be charged by the grid 108 and/or the power source 110 and/or may provide power back to the grid 108 and/or the power source 110.
In some embodiments, the cabinet 106 includes one or more terminal plates 114 at locations near battery terminals of one or more of the batteries 104, where a terminal plate 114 includes a raised insulating feature 116 between terminal openings 118 near the battery terminals. Any of the terminal plates 114 may be attached to the cabinet 106 and thus may be part of the cabinet 106 whether or not a battery 104 is installed or may be attached directly to a battery 104. Alternatively, in some embodiments, a terminal plate 114 may attach directly to one or more batteries 104 or may be directly integrated into a housing of a battery 104. Accordingly, a terminal plate 114 need not necessarily connect directly to a cabinet 106.
A raised insulating feature 116 may be formed from any electrically-insulating material (e.g., a material having a relatively low resistivity) such as, but not limited to, glass, plastic, or ceramic. In some embodiments, the material and/or the thickness of raised insulating feature 116 is designed to provide an electrical resistivity sufficient to prevent arcing between terminals of one or more batteries 104 (e.g., multiple batteries 104 connected in series) with known voltages.
A terminal plate 114 may be formed from any suitable material. In some embodiments, the terminal plate 114 is formed from an insulating material, such as, but not limited to, glass, plastic, or ceramic. In some embodiments, a terminal plate 114 includes at least some conductive material.
A terminal plate 114 and/or a raised insulating feature 116 may further be formed in any suitable form factor and from any number of components (e.g., pieces). In some embodiments, a terminal plate 114 and a raised insulating feature 116 are formed from as a single monolithic component. For example, a terminal plate 114 with a raised insulating feature 116 may be formed as a monolithic molded plastic component. In some embodiments, a terminal plate 114 and a raised insulating feature 116 are formed from two or more components, which may be joined together. Such components may be joined using any technique known in the art such as, but not limited to, interlocking pieces, screws, snaps, or the like. For instance, a raised insulating feature 116 may be formed as a separate component that may be attached to a base portion of the terminal plate 114. Such a configuration may enable an operator to selectively adjust an orientation or location of a raised insulating feature 116 and/or select between various raised insulating features 116 of different designs (e.g., to accommodate different batteries 104 from different manufacturers, different connections between batteries 104, or the like).
In some embodiments, a terminal plate 114 is formed as a plate that substantially covers the battery terminals, but may include one or more positive terminal openings 118-P and one or more negative terminal openings 118-N for access to the respective battery terminals. The positive terminal openings 118-P and/or the negative terminal openings 118-N may allow direct access to the respective battery terminals or may provide access for additional busbars or other conductors. As an illustration,
In some embodiments, a terminal plate 114 includes at least one raised insulating feature 116 between at least one positive terminal opening 118-P and at least one negative terminal opening 118-N. The term raised is used herein to denote that the raised insulating feature 116 is extended from a surface of a baseplate 208 (e.g., in a Z direction) relative to portions of the terminal plate 114 located near conductors in contact with the battery terminals (e.g., connection busbars 206, terminal busbars 204, or the like). As an illustration, the terminal plate 114 depicted in
In some embodiments, a raised insulating feature 116 may restrict placement and/or motion of a busbar (e.g., a connection busbar 206) during installation and/or removal. For example, a raised insulating feature 116 may have a height selected to be higher than an expected height of a connection busbar 206 and may further have a position, design, and/or orientation selected to restrict motion of a partially attached connection busbar 206. In a general sense, a raised insulating feature 116, or a portion thereof, may have any position, design, and/or orientation on the terminal plate 114 between positive and negative terminal openings 118. For instance, a raised insulating feature 116, or a portion thereof, may be positioned, designed, and/or oriented to be orthogonal to a line (e.g., an imaginary line) between positive and negative terminal openings 118 or diagonal (e.g., at a non-orthogonal angle) with respect to such a line. Further, the position, design, and/or orientation of a raised insulating feature 116 on one terminal plate 114 may be selected to complement a raised insulating feature 116 on an adjacent terminal plate 114.
As an illustration, the raised insulating feature 116 in
As another example, a raised insulating feature 116 may have a width in a plane parallel to the baseplate 208 (e.g., an XY plane) sufficient to prevent or mitigate electrical shorts between conductors on opposing sides of the raised insulating feature 116. It is understood that a width sufficient to prevent or mitigate electrical shorts between conductors on opposing sides of the raised insulating feature 116 may generally depend on various factors such as, but not limited to electrical properties of the raised insulating feature 116 related to its composition (e.g., a resistivity, a breakdown voltage, or the like). In this way, the design and composition of the raised insulating feature 116 may be selected together to prevent or mitigate electrical shorts between conductors on opposing sides of the raised insulating feature 116 based on an expected voltage range. For instance, the voltage range may have an upper limit greater than a combined voltage for a selected number of batteries 104 of a given type expected to be used in a given application.
Referring generally to
Additional features of a terminal opening 118 are now described in greater detail, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
A terminal plate 114 may include one or more mounting points for securing various components to the terminal plate 114 and/or securing the terminal plate 114 to an additional component such as, but not limited to, the cabinet 106 or the batteries 104. The mounting points may include any features suitable for mounting or coupling with additional components such as, but not limited to, grooves, snaps, retention tabs, or holes (e.g., unthreaded or threaded holes).
For example,
In some embodiments, a terminal opening 118 includes various features suitable for securing one or more electrical shields 302.
A terminal plate 114 may further include various markings. For example, the terminal plate 114 illustrated in
The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “connected” or “coupled” to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being “couplable” to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of couplable include but are not limited to physically interactable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interactable and/or logically interacting components.
It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosed subject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims.
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/469,737, filed May 30, 2023, entitled BATTERY CABINET WITH INSULATING TERMINAL PLATE, naming Adam Meyer and William M. Dixon as inventors, which is incorporated herein by reference in the entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63469737 | May 2023 | US |
