US 10,833,512 B2Granted

Cell balancing with local sensing and switching

AssigneeNeapco Intellectual Property Holdings, LLC

InventorsDonald Remboski, Jacqueline Dedo

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A system and method for cell balancing within a battery module includes local sensing and switching at each of the battery cells. A switching circuit is associated with each one of the battery cells to connect or functionally disconnected the battery cell from the battery module. A module controller generates one or more parameter threshold values as maximum operating values for each of the battery cells. Each cell has a cell controller associated therewith to monitor one or more cell parameters, which are communicated to a summing module via a shared monitoring line, averaged, and communicated to the module controller. The cell controllers each receive a parameter threshold value via a shared control line and command the associated switching circuit to functionally disconnect and to bypass the battery cell if the cell parameter exceeds the corresponding parameter threshold value. Methods of checking the battery module are also provided.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A system for cell balancing comprising:

a battery module including a plurality of battery cells in a series configuration;
each battery cell of said plurality of battery cells having a switched cell terminal and a non-switched cell terminal associated therewith;
one or more switching circuits each configured to switch an associated battery cell of said plurality of battery cells between a first mode with the associated battery cell being in-service with said battery module, and a second mode with the associated battery cell being functionally disconnected from said battery module;
each of said one or more switching circuits including a first switch configured as a closed circuit in the first mode to allow a flow of electrical current between said switched cell terminal of said associated battery cell and a module node, and as an open circuit in the second mode to block the flow of electrical current between said switched cell terminal of said associated battery cell and the module node;
each of said one or more switching circuits including a cell bypass conductor in electrical contact with said non-switched cell terminal of said associated battery cell;
each of said one or more switching circuits including a second switch configured as an open circuit in the first mode to block a flow of electrical current between said cell bypass conductor and the module node, and as an open circuit in the second mode to allow the flow of electrical current between said cell bypass conductor and the module node;
a cell controller associated with each of said one or more switching circuits and configured to monitor a cell parameter of said associated battery cell associated therewith and to cause said switching circuit to change from the first mode to the second mode in response to said cell parameter exceeding a parameter threshold value.

4 more elements

A method for cell balancing comprising:

measuring values of one or more cell parameters of each of a plurality of battery cells connected in series by a cell controller functionally associated with each of the battery cells;
comparing by each of the cell controllers the measured values of each of the one or more cell parameters to a parameter threshold value associated with each of the one or more cell parameters;
signaling by one of the cell controllers a command signal to a corresponding switching circuit to remove an associated one of the battery cells from service within the battery module in response to the measured value of any of the one or more cell parameters exceeding the parameter threshold value associated with a corresponding one of the one or more cell parameters;
inhibiting an electrical current path between the associated one of the battery cells and a module node by a first switch in response to the command signal from the associated cell controller to cause the associated one of the battery cells to be functionally disconnected from service in the battery module;
establishing an electrical current path through a bypass conductor around the associated one of the battery cells by a second switch in response to the command signal from the associated cell controller to allow the battery module to function with the associated one of the battery cells being functionally disconnected from service in the battery module.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/188,551Filed 13 Nov 2018 · us provisional application
Priority: 14 Nov 2017
Published: US 2019/0148952 A116 May 2019
Granted: 10 Nov 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

H01M 10/4207
Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells: for several batteries or cells simultaneously or…
H02J 7/24
Regulation of the charging current or voltage by variation of field: using discharge tubes or semiconductor devices
H02J 7/54
For charge balancing, e.g. equalisation of charge between batteries: passive balancing, e.g. using resistors or parallel MOSFETs
H02J 7/56
For charge balancing, e.g. equalisation of charge between batteries: active balancing, e.g. using capacitor-based, inductor-based or DC-DC converters