Battery Pack, Air Conditioning System, and Method for the Same

This application is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/498,408 filed on Oct. 31, 2023, which claims priority from Chinese Patent Application No. 202211343615.5 filed on Oct. 31, 2022, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The present application relates to a battery box, an air conditioning system and a method for the air conditioning system.

In an air conditioning system, once a refrigerant leak is detected, the refrigerant should be immediately recovered and locked in a specific pipeline in order to limit amount of the refrigerant leak, thus avoiding potential fire or explosion risks.

Therefore, valves in the air conditioning system should be shut down in a timely manner in the event of a sudden power failure. However, the control circuits in existing air conditioning systems may not have sufficient energy to shut down these valves after the sudden power failure.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided a battery box, the battery box comprising: a charging and energy storage unit for charging and storing electrical energy using an input voltage supplied to the battery box; a power failure detection unit for detecting a power failure of the input voltage; and a power output switching unit for switching an output based on a detection result of the power failure detection unit, wherein the power output switching unit is configured to output a voltage from the charging and energy storage unit when the power failure detection unit detects a power failure, and is configured not to output the voltage when the power failure detection unit does not detect the power failure.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, in the battery box, the power output switching unit is further configured not to output the voltage after a preset time period T of the power failure detected by the power failure detection unit.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, in the battery box, the charging and energy storage unit comprises: an energy storage unit; and a charging unit for converting an AC input voltage supplied to the battery box to a DC voltage for charging the energy storage unit.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, in the battery box, the charging and energy storage unit further comprises: a voltage regulating unit for converting a first DC voltage from the energy storage unit (e.g., a charge stored in the charging and energy storage unit) to a second DC voltage.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the battery box further comprises: an energy storage state detection unit for detecting whether a voltage from the energy storage unit satisfies a preset voltage threshold.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the battery box further comprises: a power supply line detection unit for detecting whether an output of the battery box is normally connected.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the battery box is configured to output a “ready” signal when the energy storage state detection unit detects that the voltage from the energy storage unit satisfies the preset voltage threshold and the power supply line detection unit detects that the output of the battery box is normally connected; otherwise, the battery box is configured to output a “not ready” signal.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the battery box further comprises: a micro-control unit MCU for receiving a power failure detection signal from the power failure detection unit and controlling the power output switching unit accordingly.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, in the battery box, the micro-control unit MCU is further configured to receive a first detection signal from the energy storage state detection unit and a second detection signal from the power supply line detection unit; and the micro-control unit MCU is further configured to output a “ready” signal when the first detection signal indicates that the voltage from the energy storage unit satisfies the preset voltage threshold and the second detection signal indicates that the output of the battery box is normally connected; otherwise, the micro-control unit MCU is further configured to output a “not ready” signal.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided an air conditioning system, the system comprising: a battery box as previously described; and a control board circuit for receiving an output voltage from the battery box for a safe operation.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, in the system, the control board circuit is configured to actuate one or more valves to perform a shutdown operation when the output voltage provided by the battery box is greater than a preset threshold.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a control method for an air conditioning system, the method comprising: charging an energy storage capacitor in the air conditioning system using an input voltage; detecting a power failure of the input voltage; outputting a voltage of the energy storage capacitor when the power failure of the input voltage is detected, and not outputting the voltage when the power failure is not detected; and performing a safe operation on the air conditioning system based on the output voltage.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the method further comprises: not outputting the voltage after a preset time period T of the power failure detected.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the method further comprises: outputting a “ready” signal when the voltage of the energy storage capacitor satisfies a preset voltage threshold and a voltage output terminal is normally connected; otherwise, outputting a “not ready” signal.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, in the method, the safe operation on the air conditioning system based on the output voltage comprises: actuating one or more valves to perform a shutdown operation when the “ready” signal is received and the output voltage is greater than a preset threshold.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided an air conditioning system comprising a battery box configured to output an output voltage, and a control board circuit configured to receive the output voltage from the battery box for a safe operation, wherein during the safe operation, the control board circuit is configured to actuate a refrigerant dissipation system to perform a shutdown operation when the output voltage provided by the battery box is greater than a preset threshold.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the refrigerant dissipation system comprises at least one of, at least one blower, and/or a sensor.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the air conditioning system further comprises an energy storage unit coupled to the refrigerant dissipation system.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the control board circuit is configured to supply power to the refrigerant dissipation system from the energy storage unit for actuation.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the energy storage unit is recharged by an external input voltage received by the battery box.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the energy storage unit is configured to supply the power to the refrigerant dissipation system for at least a clearance duration after the control board circuit has been reset.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the control board circuit is configured to reset upon satisfaction of a reset condition.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the sensor is configured to detect a refrigerant leak from the air conditioning system.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the control board circuit is configured to actuate the blower responsive to the sensor detecting the refrigerant leak.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the air conditioning system further comprises a plurality of safety shut-off valves configured to isolate refrigerant of the air conditioning system from an indoor environment.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the control board circuit is further configured to actuate an entry control valve and an exit control valve of the plurality of shut-off valves of a corresponding indoor unit for the safe operation.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the air conditioning system further comprises an indoor unit, wherein the plurality of safety shut-off valves are configured to isolate the refrigerant within the indoor unit and connected piping.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the battery box is configured to generate the output voltage within at least one of, a first threshold range or a second threshold range, based on detection of at least one of, a power failure and/or a refrigerant leak by the refrigerant dissipation system.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, when the battery box detects the power failure, the battery box is configured to generate the voltage within the first threshold range to power a plurality of shut-off valves.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, when the battery box detects the power failure and the refrigerant leak, the battery box is configured to generate the output voltage within the second threshold range to power a plurality of shut-off valves and the refrigerant dissipation system.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the second threshold range is greater than the first threshold range.

As a supplement or replacement of the foregoing, the at least one blower comprises an indoor fan.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided an air conditioning system comprising, a battery box configured to output an output voltage, and a control board circuit configured to receive the output voltage from the battery box for a safe operation, wherein during the safe operation, the control board circuit is configured to actuate at least one safety shut-off valves to perform a shutdown operation when the output voltage provided by the battery box is greater than a preset threshold.

The present application is described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrative embodiments of the present application are illustrated. However, the present application may be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments presented herein. The presented embodiments are intended to make the disclosure herein comprehensive and complete, so as to more comprehensively convey the protection scope of the present application to those skilled in the art.

In this specification, terms such as “comprising” and “including” mean that in addition to units and steps that are directly and clearly stated in the specification and claims, the technical solution of the application does not exclude the presence of other units and steps that are not directly or clearly stated in the specification and claims.

Unless otherwise specified, terms such as “first” and “second” do not indicate the order of the units in terms of time, space, size, etc., but are merely used to distinguish the units.

In this specification, “coupled” should be understood as including a case in which electrical energy or electrical signals are transmitted directly between two units, or a case in which electrical energy or electrical signals are transmitted indirectly through one or more third units.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present application, a battery box comprises a power output switching unit, the power output switching unit is configured to output a voltage from a charging and energy storage unit when a power failure detection unit detects a power failure of an input voltage of the battery box, and configured not to output the voltage when the power failure detection unit does not detect the power failure. In this way, the battery box is capable of, on the one hand, performing voltage output in a timely manner in the event of a sudden power failure, thereby providing sufficient energy for a related control circuit (e.g., a control board circuit) to perform a safe operation (e.g., shutting down a valve, which may be any type of a valve), and, on the other hand, performing no voltage output in the event of no power failure, thereby not affecting other control circuits. In accordance with some embodiments of the present application, safe operation may include actuating one or more valves to perform a shutdown operation, such as a ball valve, a solenoid valve, a pulse modulating valve, a needle valve, a check valve, a diaphragm valve, and the like, but not limited thereto. In accordance with some embodiments of the present application, the power output switching unit is also configured not to output the voltage after a preset time period T of the power failure detected by the power failure detection unit. That is, the battery box is capable of not only automatically providing energy (voltage output) at the time of power failure, but also automatically cutting off the energy output after a time period.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present application, the battery box further comprises: an energy storage state detection unit for detecting whether the voltage from the energy storage unit satisfies a preset voltage threshold; and a power supply line detection unit for detecting whether an output of the battery box is normally connected (e.g., whether loosening occurs). In these embodiments, the battery box is configured to output a “ready” signal when the energy storage state detection unit detects that the voltage from the energy storage unit satisfies the preset voltage threshold and the power supply line detection unit detects that the output of the battery box is normally connected; otherwise, to output a “not ready” signal. That is, in addition to providing the output voltage, the battery box can provide the current state of energy storage and the state of the output connection (e.g., by means of the “ready” signal) to an external circuit. This solution enables timely warning of power and circuit failures and improves the safety of the system application.

Specific embodiments of the present application are further described below with the aid of the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that some non-essential features or circuit elements are not shown in the accompanying drawings for the purpose of more clearly describing what is relevant to the present application. However, for those skilled in the art, such omissions do not create difficulties in the implementations of the technical solutions described in the specification of the present application.

is a schematic diagram of a structure of a battery boxaccording to embodiments of the present application. As shown in, the battery boxcomprises: a charging and energy storage unit, a power failure detection unit, and a power output switching unit. Wherein, the charging and energy storage unitis used to charge and store electrical energy using an input voltage supplied to the battery box; the power failure detection unitis used to detect a power failure of the input voltage; and the power output switching unitis used to switch an output based on a detection result of the power failure detection unit, wherein the power output switching unitis configured to output a voltage from the charging and energy storage unitwhen the power failure detection unitdetects a power failure, and is configured not to output the voltage when the power failure detection unitdoes not detect the power failure.

In the context of the present application, the term “power failure” may also be referred to as a power loss, meaning that no power is supplied to the battery box, for example, due to a sudden power failure, a malfunction, or the like. In the above embodiments of the present application, the power output switching unitis configured to output a voltage from the charging and energy storage unitwhen the power failure detection unitdetects the power failure of the input voltage of the battery box, and is configured not to output the voltage when the power failure detection unitdoes not detect the power failure. In this way, the battery boxis capable of performing voltage output in a timely manner in the event of a sudden power failure/power loss, thereby providing sufficient energy for a related control circuit (e.g., a control board circuit) to perform a safe operation (e.g., shutting down a valve).

In one embodiment, the power output switching unitis further configured not to output the voltage after a preset time period T of the power failure detected by the power failure detection unit. In this way, the battery boxis capable of not only automatically providing energy output at the time of power failure, but also automatically cutting off the energy output after a time period (i.e., the preset time period T), further improving safety.

In one embodiment, the charging and energy storage unitmay comprise: an energy storage unit; and a charging unit for converting an AC input voltage supplied to the battery box to a DC voltage for charging the energy storage unit. For example, the energy storage unit may comprise one or more capacitor (or super-capacitor) modules, and the charging unit charges one or more capacitor modules in the energy storage unit after converting the AC input voltage to the DC voltage. In one embodiment, the charging and energy storage unitmay further comprise a voltage regulating unit for converting the voltage from the energy storage unit, for example from a first DC voltage to a second DC voltage different from the first DC voltage.

Although not shown in, in one embodiment the battery boxfurther comprises: an energy storage state detection unit for detecting whether a voltage from the energy storage unit satisfies a preset voltage threshold (e.g. whether it is greater than 5V). In one embodiment, the battery boxmay further comprise: a power supply line detection unit for detecting whether an output of the battery boxis normally connected (e.g., whether loosening occurs). In one embodiment, the battery boxis configured to output a “ready” signal when the energy storage state detection unit detects that the voltage from the energy storage unit satisfies the preset voltage threshold and the power supply line detection unit detects that the output of the battery boxis normally connected; otherwise, the battery boxis configured to output a “not ready” signal.

shows a schematic diagram of a structure of a battery boxaccording to embodiments of the present application. As shown in, the battery boxcomprises a micro-control unit MCUfor receiving a power failure detection signal from a power failure detection unitand controlling a power output switching unitaccordingly.