US 11,870,049 B2
Thermal storage device for batteries
Brian Algot Hanson, Otsego, MN (US); Paul Frederick Koltz, Chanhassen, MN (US); Robert Luke Anderson, Bloomington, MN (US); and Adam Burghardt Stroud, Saint Paul, MN (US)
Assigned to The Toro Company, Bloomington, MN (US)
Filed by The Toro Company, Bloomington, MN (US)
Filed on Oct. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/975,940.
Application 17/975,940 is a continuation of application No. 16/809,223, filed on Mar. 4, 2020, granted, now 11,502,353.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/813,454, filed on Mar. 4, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0122017 A1, Apr. 20, 2023
Int. Cl. H01M 10/0525 (2010.01); H01M 10/659 (2014.01); H01M 10/617 (2014.01)
CPC H01M 10/659 (2015.04) [H01M 10/0525 (2013.01); H01M 10/617 (2015.04)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A battery assembly comprising:
a plurality of battery cells, each battery cell having a generally cylindrical shape, two cell ends, and a cylindrical cell wall extending in an axial direction between the two cell ends, the cylindrical cell wall defining a cell wall surface area;
a plurality of thermal storage devices, each thermal storage device comprising a plastic material, each thermal storage device defining one or more cell receiving spaces for receiving the one or more battery cells, each cell receiving space having a contact surface wherein the contact surface is curved, wherein the contact surface is configured to be in tight contact with a portion of the cylindrical cell wall, and wherein the contact surface comprises the plastic material; and
a lattice arrangement of the battery cells and thermal storage devices, wherein:
an axially extending portion of each cell wall is not in contact with any of the thermal storage devices when the battery cells are inserted into the thermal storage device;
the cell walls of any two neighboring battery cells are not in contact; and
the battery assembly defines air gaps between neighboring thermal storage devices in the lattice arrangement.