Danny, Thanks for the heads up on this. I see that Straubel is the 2nd inventor which may indicate metal air is a battery system he is interested in, so then I am interested as well. It isn't about the metal air battery per se, but how to provide an oxygen handling system needed for a metal air cell system.
Michael On Sat, Feb 11, 2017 at 4:16 AM, Danny Ames via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > 2/10/2017 8:36:08 AM ESTBy a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Life Science > Weekly -- TESLA MOTORS, INC. (Palo Alto, CA) has been issued patent number > 9559532, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, > by NewsRx editors (see also TESLA MOTORS, INC.).The patent's inventors are > Hermann, Weston Arthur (Palo Alto, CA); Straubel, Jeffrey Brian (Menlo Park, > CA); Beck, David G. (Tiburon, CA).This patent was filed on August 15, 2013 > and was published online on January 31, 2017.From the background information > supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: > "A metal-air cell is a type of electro-chemical battery that utilizes the > same energy storage principles as a more conventional cell such as a lithium > ion, nickel metal hydride, nickel cadmium, or other cell type. Unlike such > conventional cells, however, a metal-air cell utilizes oxygen as one of the > electrodes, typically passing the oxygen through a porous metal electrode. Due to the use of oxygen as one of the reactants, such cells have some rather unique properties. For example, since the oxygen does not need to be packaged within the cell, a metal-air cell typically exhibits a much higher capacity-to-volume, or capacity-to-weight, ratio than other cell types making them an ideal candidate for weight sensitive applications or those requiring high energy densities."The exact nature of the reaction that occurs in a metal-air battery depends upon the metal used in the anode and the composition of the electrolyte. Exemplary metals used in the construction of the anode include zinc, aluminum, magnesium, iron, lithium and vanadium. The cathode in such cells is typically fabricated from a porous structure with the necessary catalytic properties for the oxygen reaction. A suitable electrolyte, such as potassium hydroxide in the case of a zinc-air battery, provides the necessary ionic conductivity between the electrodes while a separator prevents sho rt circuits between the battery electrodes."Regardless of the composition and mechanical nature of the elements used in a metal-air battery, oxygen is required for the reaction to take place. Therefore during the discharge cycle, the reaction rate of the cell may be varied by controlling the flow of oxygen into the cell. During the charging cycle, the metal oxides or ions are reduced to form the metal comprising the anode and oxygen is emitted by the cell."While metal-air cells offer a number of advantages over a conventional rechargeable battery, most notably their extremely high energy density, such cells also have a number of drawbacks. For example, care must be taken to avoid undesired electrolyte water loss, especially in high temperature, low humidity environments. More importantly, care must be taken to insure a sufficient supply of air to the cells during discharge cycles, and means for handling the oxygen emitted from the cells during the charge cycles, both of thes e issues becoming increasingly important as the number of metal-air cells and/or the size of the cells increase to meet the demands of larger applications. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for meeting some of these demands."Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent: "The present invention provides a system and method for charging a metal-air battery pack at the maximum possible rate while maintaining an ambient oxygen concentration below a preset concentration, thereby minimizing the risks associated with generating oxygen during the charging cycle."In at least one embodiment of the invention, a method of charging a metal-air battery pack is provided, the method comprising the steps of coupling the metal-air battery pack to an external charging source; determining the oxygen concentration level within a first region; comparing the oxygen concentration level t o a first preset level; initiating charging if the oxygen concentration is less than the first preset level; and suspending charging if the oxygen concentration exceeds the first preset level and then resuming charging when the oxygen concentration falls below a second preset level. The method may further comprise the steps of determining the present battery pack state-of-charge (SOC); comparing the present SOC to a target SOC; and terminating charging when the present SOC reaches or exceeds the target SOC. The method may further comprise the step of activating a warning system (e.g., auditory, visual, notification system, etc.) if the oxygen concentration level exceeds the preset level. The method may further comprise the steps of determining a second oxygen concentration level corresponding to a second region, where the first region corresponds to the battery pack oxygen outlet and the second region corresponds to an external vehicle sensing location; comparing the second oxygen concentration level to the first preset level; and suspending charging if the second oxygen concentration level exceeds the first preset level and then resuming charging when the second oxygen concentration falls below the second preset level. The method may further comprise the steps of determining a second oxygen concentration level corresponding to a second region, where the first region corresponds to the battery pack oxygen outlet and the second region corresponds to an external vehicle sensing location; comparing the second oxygen concentration level to a third preset level, where the second concentration level may be less than the first preset level; and suspending charging if the second oxygen concentration level exceeds the third preset level and then resuming charging when the second oxygen concentration falls below the second preset level. The method may further comprise the steps of monitoring a plurality of oxygen concentration levels at a plurality of lo cations, and averaging the plurality of oxygen concentration levels to obtain the oxygen concentration level used in the methodology of the invention. The step of initiating charging may further comprise the step of applying a charging profile, preferably where the charging profile is selected from a plurality of stored charging profiles based on a set of initial charging conditions."A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings."For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Hermann, Weston Arthur; Straubel, Jeffrey Brian; Beck, David G.. Charge Rate Modulation of Metal-Air Cells as a Function of Ambient Oxygen Concentration. U.S. Patent Number 9559532, filed August 15, 2013, and published online on January 31, 2017. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&; r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=9559532.PN.&OS=PN/9559532RS=PN/9559532Keywords for this news article include: INC., Chalcogens, TESLA MOTORS INC.Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2017, NewsRx LLC > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20170211/b3a9cd7c/attachment.htm> > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > -- To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. Warren Buffet Michael E. Ross (919) 585-6737 Land (919) 576-0824 Mobile and Google Phone [email protected] _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
