Embodiments relate to a battery casing, a battery unit and a method of installing a battery unit.
Traditional street lighting and other street-side electrical utilities have required electrical power provided mains connections to operate. Where the location for the provision of this lighting or other utility is remote, the provision of a mains electrical connection can be prohibitively expensive with the result that remote streets may be more dangerous and less accessible.
With the advent of more efficient ways of converting light energy into electrical energy, solar-powered street side electrical lighting and utilities have become possible. However, using solar power for such applications has a number of disadvantages.
Due to the power requirements of, for example, street-side lighting and the requirement that such lighting operate at night, even after overcast days, the batteries used to operate each light need to have significant capacity, for example up to 800 amp hours. This, in turn, means that the batteries can be heavy. So, for low power applications such as speed compliance signage, it is possible to locate the battery, solar cells and the electrical components for the sign at the top of a pole which also supports the sign.
However, for lighting and other applications, the weight of the battery may be too large to be supported by standard poles. It may therefore be necessary to store such batteries near the base of the pole, but this may create a security problem since such batteries are valuable, and are therefore subject to theft. It is therefore desirable to secure these batteries.
Certain applications make use of a secured road-side storage bin, but this may create a safety concern for motorists and other road users since the reinforcement may provide a significant impact in the case of accident. Furthermore, such bins are exposed to direct sunlight and may lack adequate ventilation, exposing the batteries to extreme temperatures.
Furthermore, it is not possible to bury certain kinds of batteries such as lead acid batteries since they emit gas over their lifecycle.
An embodiment extends to a rechargeable battery unit comprising a housing and a plurality of battery cells located within the housing, wherein the housing has a substantially round or oval cross-section.
The housing may be elongate.
The housing may be substantially cylindrical in shape.
The housing may be substantially round-cylindrical in shape.
The housing may have a length of more than 30 cm. In an embodiment, the length is less than 2 meters. The diameter may be between 30 cm and 60 cm.
The housing may comprise a skeleton. The skeleton may comprise a plurality of elongate members running a length of the housing. The housing may have a top and a bottom and the elongate members may run from substantially the top to substantially the bottom of the housing. The skeleton may comprise one or more plate members. The elongate members may be tubes or bars.
One or more of the plurality of battery cells may be rectangular cuboid in shape. The plurality of battery cells may be provided in one or more cell units. There may be two or more cell units, each cell unit comprising a plurality of cells.
One or more of the battery cells may be lithium ion batteries. The one or more battery cells may be lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO4). In an embodiment all of the battery cells are lithium ion batteries.
The battery unit may comprise one or more modular units. Where there is more than one modular unit, the modular units may be stacked vertically. A modular unit may comprise a cell unit, a plate member to separate adjacent cell units and at least one cell spacer for separating adjacent cell units.
Each cell unit may comprise a plurality of battery cells. In an embodiment, each cell unit has the same number of battery cells.
Each modular unit may comprise two cell spacers. The cell spacers may engage with the elongate members.
Each modular unit may be connected to one or more elongate members running a length of the housing.
A cell unit may comprise a single battery cell or a plurality of battery cells connected together.
The housing may be water-tight. The housing comprises a base unit and a cover, the base unit being attached to the base unit to form a water-tight seal. The housing may be water tight to the IP 68 specification.
The housing may be comprised of steel. The steel may be stainless steel of 316 or 304 variety.
The housing may have a valve. The housing may have a pressure release valve.
The housing may have a cover over the valve.
The housing may comprise a level to determine when the battery unit is correctly orientated.
The level may be integrated into the housing. The level may be integrated into the cover for the valve. The level may be a bubble degree level.
A further embodiment extends to a battery unit for powering a street-side electrical utility such as a street lamp, the unit having a substantially cylindrical shape and being connected to a solar array, the battery unit further comprising a housing for rendering the unit water tight so that it may be located underground proximate the electrical utility.
A further embodiment extends to an electrical installation comprising a road-side utility mounted to a pole, the pole being suitable for location next to a street, a hole formed proximate the pole and a battery unit as herein described located in the hole and connected to the utility and an array of solar cells.
By locating the battery underground, embodiments may provide a number of advantages. For example, the temperature variations of the battery may be less extreme compared to a battery stored in a road-side storage bin, and this may increase the life span of the battery. Furthermore, the location of the battery may be more easily hidden, potentially making it harder for thieves to locate the battery. By locating the battery underground, the potential danger posed by a road-side security bin may be removed.
A further embodiment relates to a method of installing a rechargeable battery unit, the method comprising:
The battery unit may be for powering a utility mounted on a pole and the hole may be formed proximate the pole.
The method may further comprise at least partially filling the hole with drainage aggregate. The drainage aggregate may surround the battery unit and may therefore be added after the battery unit has been placed in the hole.
The hole may be at least partially filled with earth. The earth may comprise material removed from the hole. The earth may be placed on top of the aggregate.
The utility may be a street-side electrical utility and be street lighting. In a further embodiment the utility may be one or more of lighting, weather stations, rain sensors, camera, illuminated signs, safety signs, speed signs, warning signs and systems, proximity sensors, impact sensors, electric fences, remote alarm systems. The utility may be mounted to a pole and the hole may be formed in proximity to the pole.
The method may further comprise covering the battery unit once installed in the hole and then covering the hole with backfill or other material which allows the passage and disbursement of water.
The hole may be formed by an auger. In an embodiment, the battery unit has a maximum diameter less than 400 mm. In certain applications, a standard auger size is 450 mm used for footings for certain road-side utilities. Therefore, providing a battery unit with this size may avoid the need to change tools when forming the hole for the battery unit.
The battery unit may be substantially as described.
Embodiments are herein described, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The battery unit 24 is connected to the light 12 and the solar cell array 18 in a known manner and these electrical connections, and the corresponding electrical operations, of these units will not be further described herein.
The battery unit 24 is illustrated in further detail in
As illustrated in
In this embodiment, the battery cells are prismatic (i.e. shaped as a rectangular cuboid). Having prismatic cells may provide for easier connection between cells and a greater energy density than other shapes for the cells such as cylindrical. It is to be realised that the dimensions of the overall battery unit 24 (
In this embodiment, all of the battery cells 70A, 70B, . . . are lithium ion batteries. It is to realised that in an embodiment, the cells illustrated by be battery packs comprised of a number of interconnected cells.
A gasket 120 is situated between the base unit 112 and cap 114 so that the bolts 118A, 118B, 118C, . . . which attach the two together form a seal. In this embodiment, the seal provides a water-tight housing for the battery cells. However, a potential disadvantage is that any fluid which may form in the housing (in the unlikely event of fire, for example) may be unable to escape.
For this reason, the cap 114 includes a port 122 which is surrounded by a perforated tube 124. The perforated tube 124 has a solid tube 126 situated over it and which acts as a dust cover to reduce the ingress of dust and gravel into the enclosure formed around the port 122.
A pressure valve (not shown) is located in the port 122 and if the pressure in the housing 110 exceeds a predetermined amount due, for example smoke being released due to a short circuit on over-charged cells, the pressure valve will operate to reduce the pressure, thereby avoiding an explosive release.
The cap 114, perforated tube 124, solid tube 126 and valve form a valve assembly.
The battery units 24 and 100 are installed by forming a cylindrical hole 22 in the ground proximate to the pole 16 carrying the utility (in this case light 12) to be powered by the unit (see
The unit is then lifted into place, being situated with the cylindrical hole, connected electronically to the light 12 and solar cell array 18 and the hole is then filled with course backfill which allows pressure to escape, if required. It has been found that a drainage aggregate may work well. The aggregate is then covered with soil.
A skeleton 220 includes four elongate tubes 222, each connected to base plate 224. Two cell spacers 226 and 228 are also provided.
The battery unit 200 is assembled by locating the cell unit 210 on the base plate 224 and the cell spacers 224 and 226 are then located over the elongate tubes 222. As illustrated, each spacer is formed with a respective ledge 226A and 228A which, once installed, will rest on an upper surface of the cell unit 210. Two foam strips 230 and 232 are provided to prevent a short circuit between the cell unit 210 and the spacers 226 and 228.
Control electronics in the form of a battery management system 240 and charge controller 242 are then attached to the spacers 226 and 228. The assembly is then placed inside the cylindrical base unit 202, and the cap 204 and valve assembly 206 are then attached to the base unit 202. In order to maintain the required level of seal, a rubber gasket (not shown) is provided between the cap and the flange defining the upper end of the cylindrical base unit. As illustrated, in this embodiment, the cap and base unit are attached to one another with 16 bolts (the holes through which these bolts pass are shown). It has been found that the number of bolts may influence the water-tight properties of the unit. Although certain embodiments may use 16 bolts, it is to be realised that this may, to a certain extent, be a function of the size of the cap and base unit. In further embodiments, at least 10 bolts may be used. So too, a cable gland may be provided for the electrical cable which exits the cap.
A skeleton 320 in the form of base plate 322 and elongate rods 324 is provided. Furthermore, three cell units 310A, 310B and 310C are provided together with two separating plates 312A and 312B. Three sets of two cell spacers are also provided, 314A, 316A; 314B, 316B; and 314C, 316C.
Each module is then comprised of a plate (the lowermost module using the base plate 322), a cell unit and two cell spacers. For example, the topmost module comprises plate 312B, cell unit 310C and spacers 314C and 316C.
It can be seen that the battery unit 200 illustrated in
Referring back to
Once the modular units and other components have been mounted to the skeleton 320, this is placed inside the circular base unit 302 and the cap 304 and valve assembly 306 are attached. The embodiment of
The battery unit 300 illustrated in
It is to be realised that in certain embodiments relating to installation of a battery unit that there may be certain advantages to forming a cylindrical hole and that the unit need not be cylindrical to fit into the hole, provided that the unit and the hole have been dimensioned accordingly.
As used herein, the term “device” shall not be limited to meaning a unitary entity, but covers both a unitary entity and an entity comprising distinct components whether manually removable, or not.
It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.
In the claims which follow and in the preceding description, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments. Similarly, the word “device” is used in a broad sense and is intended to cover the constituent parts provided as an integral whole as well as an instantiation where one or more of the constituent parts are provided separate to one another.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020104309 | Dec 2020 | AU | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/AU2021/051539 | 12/22/2021 | WO |