Disclosure of Invention
The embodiment of the application provides a heat dissipation assembly, a heat dissipation method, an energy storage device and electric equipment, so as to improve the heat dissipation effect of a battery pack in the energy storage device.
In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a heat dissipating assembly, including:
A unidirectional heat conducting member for contacting a heat dissipating medium and a battery pack, the unidirectional heat conducting member configured to conduct heat of the battery pack to the heat dissipating medium when a temperature of the heat dissipating medium is lower than a real-time temperature of the battery pack;
the liquid cooling assembly is used for being in contact with the battery pack, and the liquid cooling assembly is configured to start cooling the battery pack when the real-time temperature of the battery pack is greater than a preset value.
In one possible embodiment, the unidirectional heat conducting members extend at least partially to and are in contact with the sides of the battery pack.
In one possible embodiment, the unidirectional heat conductive member includes a plurality of heat conductive rods, both ends of which are respectively used to contact the battery pack and the heat dissipation medium.
In one possible embodiment, the unidirectional heat conducting members are heat conducting plates, one of the surfaces of the opposite sides of the heat conducting plates is used for being attached to the surface of the battery pack, and the other is used for being in contact with the heat radiating medium.
In one possible embodiment, the liquid cooling assembly includes at least one liquid cooling heat conducting member for conforming to at least one surface of the battery pack.
In one possible embodiment, the unidirectional heat conducting component is at least partially in contact with the liquid cooling heat conducting member, and the unidirectional heat conducting component and the liquid cooling heat conducting member are respectively used for contacting different parts of the battery pack.
In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a heat dissipation method, which is applied to the heat dissipation assembly in any one of the first aspects, and includes:
acquiring the real-time temperature of the battery pack;
If the real-time temperature is smaller than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, the unidirectional heat conduction component conducts the heat of the battery pack to the heat dissipation medium;
And if the real-time temperature is greater than a preset value, starting the liquid cooling assembly to cool the battery pack.
In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a heat dissipating device, including a case, a battery pack located in the case, and the heat dissipating assembly according to any one of the first aspect, where a unidirectional heat conducting component of the heat dissipating assembly is located at least partially in the case, and where the liquid cooling assembly is located in the case.
In one possible embodiment, the unidirectional heat conducting component extends at least partially out of the housing and is in sealing connection with the housing.
In one possible embodiment, at least two of the battery packs are disposed in the case, and the unidirectional heat conductive member extends at least partially between and contacts two adjacent battery packs.
In one possible embodiment, the battery pack further comprises a control system and a temperature measuring component, wherein the control system and the temperature measuring component are positioned in the box body, the temperature measuring component is used for acquiring the real-time temperature of the battery pack, the temperature measuring component and the liquid cooling component are in communication connection with the control system, and the control system is configured to:
and controlling the liquid cooling assembly to be opened or closed according to the real-time temperature.
In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electric device, including an apparatus main body and an energy storage device according to any one of the third aspect, where the energy storage device is configured to supply power to the apparatus main body.
According to the heat dissipation assembly, the heat dissipation method, the energy storage device and the electric equipment, the unidirectional heat conduction component and the liquid cooling component are arranged in the heat dissipation assembly, the unidirectional heat conduction component is in contact with the battery pack and the heat dissipation medium, the unidirectional heat conduction component conducts heat of the battery pack to the heat dissipation medium to cool the battery pack only when the real-time temperature of the battery pack is higher than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, and the unidirectional heat conduction component does not work when the real-time temperature of the battery pack is lower than or equal to the heat dissipation medium, the heat dissipation component does not conduct the temperature of the heat dissipation medium to the battery pack, the situation that the battery pack is reversely heated can be avoided, and when the real-time temperature of the battery pack is higher than a preset value, the temperature of the battery pack is indicated to be higher, the cooling capability of the unidirectional heat conduction component cannot meet the heat dissipation requirement of the battery pack, and the temperature of the battery pack is enabled to be quickly lowered when the liquid cooling component is started, if the real-time temperature of the battery pack does not reach the preset value, the battery pack can be independently cooled by the unidirectional heat conduction component, the battery pack is not started normally, the battery pack can be cooled when the battery pack is not cooled normally, the battery pack can be cooled, the heat can be cooled is prevented from being cooled, and the heat dissipation of the battery pack is not be effectively is prevented when the battery pack is cooled, and the heat is cooled is greatly is cooled when the battery pack is cooled.
Detailed Description
Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numbers in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary examples do not represent all implementations consistent with the application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with aspects of the application as detailed in the accompanying claims.
First, the terms involved in the present application will be explained:
The energy storage device comprises a battery pack, a battery management system, a thermal management system, a shell, a control system and the like, and is mainly used for supplying power to electric equipment. The battery pack is generally formed by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series or in parallel, wherein the battery cells can be lithium ion batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, lead-acid batteries and the like, and a plurality of battery packs can also be connected in series or in parallel so as to meet specific voltage and capacity requirements.
The battery pack in the energy storage device can emit heat in the process of charging and discharging, and the heat emitted by the battery pack is different for different use scenes. The common heat dissipation modes mainly comprise active heat dissipation and passive heat dissipation.
The inventor finds that the passive heat dissipation is mainly that heat dissipation holes are formed in the energy storage device, so that air naturally flows to cool the battery pack, but in the mode, reverse heat conduction is easy to conduct when the external temperature is high, the temperature of the battery pack is further increased, and meanwhile, when the heat generated by the battery pack is high, the temperature of the energy storage device is difficult to reduce in time.
The active heat dissipation is generally to set a liquid cooling assembly for heat dissipation, the liquid cooling assembly mainly comprises a liquid cooling plate, a heat exchanger, a safety device and other structures, cooling liquid circularly flows between the heat exchanger and the liquid cooling plate, after the cooling liquid enters the liquid cooling plate, the cooling liquid can exchange heat with the battery pack, and then the cooling liquid enters the heat exchanger to dissipate absorbed heat. In the practical use process of the battery pack, a large amount of heat is not required to be emitted at any time, but the liquid cooling assembly is often required to be started for a long time, and the generated energy consumption is high.
In order to avoid the problems, the embodiment of the application provides a heat dissipation assembly, a heat dissipation method and an energy storage device, wherein the heat dissipation assembly combines a unidirectional heat conduction component with a liquid cooling assembly, the unidirectional heat conduction component has a unidirectional heat conduction function and can be passively started, when the real-time temperature of a battery pack is smaller than the temperature of a heat dissipation medium, the battery pack is automatically subjected to heat dissipation, the liquid cooling assembly actively responds, and the heat dissipation requirement of the battery pack cannot be met only when the heat dissipation capacity of the unidirectional heat conduction component is higher than a preset value, so that the heat dissipation of the battery pack is started, the heat dissipation component and the liquid cooling assembly cooperate with each other, the temperature regulation and the control can be quickly performed, the temperature accumulation phenomenon can not occur inside the energy storage device, the normal operation of the energy storage device is ensured, a large amount of operation energy consumption and labor monitoring cost are saved, the whole structure is simple, the passive response is achieved, and the failure risk is automatically triggered, and is greatly reduced.
It is understood that the electrical equipment includes, but is not limited to, electric automobiles, electric buses, electric motorcycles, unmanned aerial vehicles, robots, aviation equipment, backup power systems, etc., which are not limited herein.
The following describes the technical scheme of the present application and how the technical scheme of the present application solves the above technical problems in detail with specific embodiments. The following embodiments may be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described in detail in some embodiments. Embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 1, 2 and 3, the energy storage device includes a case 200, a battery pack 300 and a heat dissipation assembly.
The battery pack 300 is composed of a battery cell, such as a lithium ion battery, a lithium iron phosphate battery, etc., which is fixed in the case 200, the battery pack 300 is protected by the case 200, and the heat dissipation assembly is used for dissipating heat of the battery pack 300. The energy storage device may further include a common battery management system, a control system, and other structures, where the battery management system is used to monitor and manage the charge and discharge states of the battery pack 300, balance the voltage of the battery pack 300, and protect the battery pack 300 from the overcharge, overdischarge, overheat, and other conditions. The control system is then used to manage the overall operation of the entire energy storage device.
In some embodiments of the application, the heat dissipation assembly includes a unidirectional heat conductive member 110 and a liquid cooled assembly 120.
As shown in fig. 4, the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 is used to contact the heat dissipation medium and the battery pack 300, and when the temperature of the heat dissipation medium is lower than the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300, heat of the battery pack 300 is transferred to the heat dissipation medium, thereby dissipating heat of the battery pack 300, and the heat dissipation path is shown by an arrow in fig. 4. The heat dissipation medium may be air or a fluid such as a liquid, which is commonly used for heat exchange to reduce the heat of the battery, and the embodiment is not limited herein. As shown in fig. 5, the liquid cooling assembly 120 is configured to contact the battery pack 300, and when the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300 is greater than a preset value, the liquid cooling assembly 120 is started to cool the battery pack 300, and the heat dissipation path is shown by an arrow in fig. 5.
Among them, the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 may realize a unidirectional heat conductive function by using a specific material or a specific structural design, which includes, but is not limited to, the following implementation:
Alternatively, referring to fig. 2 and 3, the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 includes a plurality of heat conductive rods, both ends of which are respectively used to contact the battery pack 300 and the heat dissipation medium.
Wherein, the heat conducting rod can be a thermal diode or other unidirectional heat conducting rod-shaped objects. Taking a heat conducting bar as an example of a thermal diode, the thermal diode allows efficient transfer of heat in one direction and limits transfer of heat in the opposite direction, similar to an electrical thermal diode, allowing current to flow in only one direction. The heat conducting rod can conduct heat of the battery pack 300 to the heat dissipation medium in one direction only when the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300 is higher than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, and can not conduct heat of the heat dissipation medium to the battery pack 300 when the temperature of the heat dissipation medium is higher than the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300, so that a certain protection effect can be achieved on the battery pack 300.
The unidirectional heat conducting thermal diode may be implemented by using mechanisms such as phase change material, thermoelectric effect, asymmetric structural design, thermal interface resistance, etc., which are well known to those skilled in the art, and the embodiment is not limited herein.
In addition, when the heat conductive rod is applied to the energy storage device, it may extend at least partially to the side of the battery pack 300 and contact the side of the battery pack 300.
In the use process of the battery pack 300, the main position with higher temperature is concentrated on the side surface of the battery pack 300, especially when the battery pack 300 is provided with a plurality of battery packs, the temperature between the adjacent battery packs 300 is higher, and the heat conducting rod extends to the side surface of the battery pack 300 and is connected with the battery pack 300, so that the heat dissipation effect of the battery pack 300 can be effectively improved.
Illustratively, one or more heat conductive bars may be disposed in parallel to each other on each side of the battery pack 300, or one or more heat conductive bars may be disposed on each of opposite sides of the battery pack 300.
When a plurality of battery packs 300 are disposed in the case 200 of the energy storage device, the adjacent battery packs 300 may share a heat conducting rod, that is, the heat conducting rod at a corresponding position extends between two adjacent battery packs 300 and contacts with both battery packs 300, thereby realizing heat conduction between the two battery packs 300.
It will be appreciated that the heat conductive rods are merely illustrative and not limiting, and that the heat conductive rods may alternatively be in contact with any one of the surfaces of the battery pack 300, so long as heat conduction is provided by contact with the battery pack 300.
Alternatively, referring to fig. 6, the unidirectional heat conducting component 110 is a heat conducting plate, and one or more heat conducting plates may be provided, which may be specifically selected according to the actual situation, and the embodiment is not limited herein. The heat conducting plate is partially used for being attached to the surface of the battery pack 300, and partially used for being in contact with a heat dissipation medium so as to conduct heat of the battery pack 300 to the heat dissipation medium, and generally, one of the surfaces of two opposite sides of the heat conducting plate can be attached to the surface of the battery pack 300, and the other surface is in contact with the heat dissipation medium so as to conduct heat effectively.
The heat conductive plate may be made of a material having anisotropic heat conductive properties, such as graphene, and may be designed according to the anisotropic heat conductive properties of graphene, so that the heat conductive plate has excellent heat conductive properties in a direction from the battery pack 300 to the heat dissipation medium, and has poor heat conductive properties in a direction from the heat dissipation medium to the battery pack 300, thereby achieving unidirectional heat conduction.
The heat conducting plate can also be made of graphene and other materials, or can realize unidirectional heat conduction through a specific layered structure design.
Of course, the heat conducting plate may be made of other materials or structures, so long as it has a single heat conducting capability, and the embodiment is not limited herein.
The liquid cooling assembly 120 is at least partially in contact with the battery pack 300, and can take away heat of the battery pack 300 through low-temperature cooling liquid, so as to cool the battery pack 300, and the liquid cooling assembly 120 can use an active heat dissipation structure commonly used for an energy storage assembly.
The liquid cooling assembly 120 includes a liquid cooling heat conducting member, a pump, a radiator, and other structures, where the liquid cooling heat conducting member may be a liquid cooling plate through which a cooling liquid can pass, or may be a cooling pipe, so long as the cooling liquid can pass and can contact the battery pack 300 to conduct heat, and the liquid cooling heat conducting member is generally made of a metal material to improve heat conducting capability, or may be any other composite material with better heat conducting capability. Of course, the liquid cooling heat conducting member may be disposed at any position in the case 200 of the energy storage device, such as the top or bottom of the battery pack 300, so long as heat dissipation can be effectively performed, and the use of the battery pack 300 is not affected.
It will be appreciated that, for some energy storage devices with high heat dissipation requirements, the liquid cooling assembly 120 may further include a structure such as a compressor, which can effectively reduce the temperature of the cooling liquid, which is not limited in this embodiment.
In the use process of the energy storage device, if the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300 does not reach the preset value, and the temperature of the battery pack 300 is smaller than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 can be used for independently cooling the battery pack 300, the liquid cooling component 120 is not started, the normal operation of the battery pack 300 can be ensured, the energy loss can be reduced, and when the battery pack 300 emits a large amount of heat, the liquid cooling component 120 is started to realize the rapid cooling of the battery pack 300, so that the problem that the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 cannot conduct heat dissipation in time when the battery pack 300 emits a large amount of heat is solved, and the battery pack 300 is effectively protected.
The preset value may be a predetermined temperature warning value, and the specific value thereof may be determined according to the type and the use environment of the battery pack 300, which is not limited in this embodiment.
The passive heat dissipation unidirectional heat conduction component 110 and the active heat dissipation liquid cooling component 120 work cooperatively, and different countermeasures can be started in different scenes, so that the operation cost can be greatly reduced while the temperature stability of the battery pack 300 is maintained together.
In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 2 and 6, the unidirectional heat conducting member 110 may be at least partially contacted with the liquid cooling heat conducting member, and the unidirectional heat conducting member 110 and the liquid cooling heat conducting member are respectively used for contacting different portions of the battery pack 300.
For example, referring to fig. 2, the heat conductive rod is inserted at a side of the battery pack 300 and contacts the battery pack 300, and the liquid cooling plate is positioned at the top of the battery pack 300 and contacts the top of the battery pack 300.
The liquid cooling plates can be formed by splicing a plurality of plates, the adjacent plates are connected through pipelines, at the moment, gaps for the heat conducting rods to pass through can be formed between the adjacent plates, and the liquid cooling plates can be directly provided with grooves or holes for the heat conducting rods to pass through.
When the liquid cooling assembly 120 is started, the heat conducting rod not only can transfer heat of the battery pack 300 to the heat dissipation medium, but also can transfer heat to the liquid cooling plate, so that the heat dissipation effect of the battery pack 300 is further improved. Meanwhile, when the temperature of the heat dissipation medium is greater than the temperature of the battery pack 300, the heat conduction rod may also transfer the temperature of the battery pack 300 into the cooling liquid in the liquid cooling plate.
In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 7, the heat dissipating assembly may be located entirely within the housing 200 of the energy storage device.
In this case, if the heat dissipation medium is a liquid, a space for accommodating the liquid may be provided at a corresponding position in the case 200, and the unidirectional heat conduction member 110 may be extended at least partially into the space to be in contact with the liquid, so as to conduct heat.
If the heat dissipation medium is a gas, a space for accommodating the gas may be provided as in the case of a liquid, and the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 may be extended into the space to be in contact with the gas.
In order to reduce the cost, a heat dissipation hole may be provided in the wall of the case 200 corresponding to the space, and when the air in the environment is used as a heat dissipation medium and passes into and out of the space through the heat dissipation hole, heat exchange with the unidirectional heat conduction member 110 may be performed.
At this time, devices such as a fan and the like can be arranged in the space so as to improve the gas flow speed, and the fan has simple structure, low running cost and more convenient arrangement.
In some embodiments of the present application, the heat dissipation medium is distributed outside the case 200, and the unidirectional heat conduction member 110 extends at least partially outside the case 200 of the energy storage device, directly contacts the heat dissipation medium, and thus conducts heat.
It will be appreciated that, at this time, the heat dissipation medium may be directly outside air, or may be water or other fluid located outside the case 200, which may be specifically determined according to the use environment of the energy storage device, and the embodiment is not limited herein.
When the temperature of the battery pack 300 is too high, the unidirectional heat conduction member 110 guides heat to the heat dissipation medium outside the case 200 to dissipate heat, and when the temperature of the heat dissipation medium outside is too high, the unidirectional heat conduction member 110 causes that the high temperature of the heat dissipation medium cannot be transferred to the inside of the case 200, and the battery pack 300 is not heated.
At this time, the case 200 is provided with a hole through which the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 extends out of the case 200, and a sealing ring or sealant may be added at the hole where the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 is connected with the case 200 to seal the hole, so as to prevent external impurities from entering the case 200 from the hole.
Such a configuration can reduce the space of the case 200 occupied by the unidirectional heat conductive member 110, and can also be in contact with the external air in a large range, thereby improving the heat dissipation effect.
For example, referring to fig. 1, when the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 is a heat conductive rod, the length of the heat conductive rod may be directly extended so as to extend out of the case 200.
For example, as shown in fig. 6, when the unidirectional heat conductive member 110 has a structure such as a heat conductive plate or a heat conductive block, it may be attached to one or more surfaces of the battery pack 300, and then a plurality of protrusions may be added to the adjacent side of the wall of the case 200, and the protrusions may extend to the outside of the case 200.
It should be understood that the unidirectional heat conducting component 110 may extend out of the case 200 from the top, side or bottom of the case 200, and may be specifically adjusted according to the practical situation, and the embodiment is not limited herein. Of course, no matter which side of the case 200 is extended, the heat dissipation medium may be distributed on that side and may be in contact with the unidirectional heat conductive member 110.
In some embodiments of the present application, the energy storage device further includes a control system and a temperature measuring component located in the case 200, where the temperature measuring component is used to obtain the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300, and the temperature measuring component and the liquid cooling component 120 are both communicatively connected to the control system, and the control system can control the liquid cooling component 120 to be turned on or turned off according to the real-time temperature. Here, the control system is mainly in communication connection with the pump and other electronic control structures of the liquid cooling system.
The temperature measuring component may be one or more temperature sensors, where the temperature sensor may obtain the temperature of a certain position in the case 200 or the temperature of a certain battery pack 300, and when a plurality of temperature sensors are provided, an average value may be obtained as the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300.
Specifically, the control system may preset a preset temperature value, and when the real-time temperature is greater than the preset temperature value, control the liquid cooling assembly 120 to start, so that the liquid cooling assembly 120 and the unidirectional heat conducting component 110 cooperate to cool the battery pack 300. When the real-time temperature is less than or equal to the preset value, the temperature of the battery pack 300 is lower, the intervention of the liquid cooling assembly 120 is not needed, and the liquid cooling assembly 120 is controlled to be closed at the moment, so that the energy consumption is reduced, and the use cost of the energy storage equipment is reduced.
Further, referring to fig. 2, the cavity inside the box 200 may be divided into a battery compartment 210 and a control compartment 220, the liquid cooling assembly 120 and the battery pack 300 are both located in the battery compartment 210, the unidirectional heat conducting component 110 extends at least partially into the battery compartment 210, and the control system is located in the control compartment 220, so as to separate the control system from other components, so as to avoid the influence of the control system, and facilitate the arrangement of wiring.
The embodiment of the application also provides a heat dissipation method which is applied to the heat dissipation assembly in the embodiment. The controller used in the heat dissipation method may be a controller added separately, or may be a control system of the energy storage device, as long as the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300 can be obtained, and the start and the stop of the liquid cooling assembly 120 can be controlled. Referring to fig. 8, the heat dissipation method includes:
acquiring a real-time temperature of the battery pack 300;
Specifically, the energy storage device may be provided with a sensor for detecting the temperature of the battery pack 300 to obtain the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300, or may be provided with an additional sensor to obtain the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300.
Judging whether the real-time temperature is higher than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium;
If the real-time temperature is less than or equal to the preset value and less than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 conducts the heat of the battery pack 300 to the heat dissipation medium, the liquid cooling component 120 is not started, and at the moment, the temperature of the battery pack 300 is lower, the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 can meet the heat dissipation requirement of the battery pack 300, and the liquid cooling component 120 is not required to strengthen the heat dissipation effect;
if the real-time temperature is less than or equal to the preset value and greater than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 does not conduct heat, the liquid cooling component 120 is not started, and at the moment, the temperature of the battery pack 300 does not influence the operation and can not be interfered;
If the real-time temperature is greater than the preset value and less than the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 conducts the heat of the battery pack 300 to the heat dissipation medium, and meanwhile, the liquid cooling component 120 is started to cool the battery pack 300, at this time, more heat is emitted by the battery pack 300, the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 cannot timely dissipate heat, and the liquid cooling component 120 is required to synchronously start to strengthen the heat dissipation effect;
If the real-time temperature is greater than the preset value and greater than or equal to the temperature of the heat dissipation medium, the liquid cooling assembly 120 is started to cool the battery pack 300, and at this time, the battery pack 300 may be in a high temperature in a use environment, so that the unidirectional heat conduction component 110 is difficult to exchange heat, and only the liquid cooling assembly 120 can dissipate heat for the battery pack 300.
The heat dissipation assembly can intelligently adjust the heat dissipation scheme according to the real-time temperature of the battery pack 300 and the temperature of the heat dissipation medium in the environment, and combines active heat dissipation and passive heat dissipation, so that the battery pack 300 can be started to dissipate heat according to corresponding measures no matter whether the service environment of the battery pack 300 is severe or not. Meanwhile, the heat dissipation assembly is low in operation cost, can operate for a long time, is simple in structure and convenient to arrange, and can effectively improve the safety coefficient of the energy storage device.
The embodiment of the application also provides electric equipment, which comprises the equipment main body and the energy storage device in the embodiment, wherein the energy storage device is used for supplying power to the equipment main body.
It is understood that the electrical equipment includes, but is not limited to, electric automobiles, electric buses, electric motorcycles, unmanned aerial vehicles, robots, aviation equipment, and the like, and the embodiment is not limited thereto.
Finally, it should be noted that other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This invention is intended to cover any adaptations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the precise construction hereinbefore set forth and shown in the drawings and as follows in the scope of the appended claims. The scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.