# US 12,179,631 B2 · Management device and power supply system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,179,631 B2 - Document ID: US12179631B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/001,675 - Filed: 2021-06-16 - Published: 2023-07-13 - Granted: 2024-12-31 - Earliest claimed: 2020-06-26 - Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Hiroshi Takao - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12179631B2 ## CPC - B60L 58/22: Balancing the charge of battery modules - B60L 50/60: using power supplied by batteries (in combination with fuel cells B60L50/75) - B60L 58/13: Maintaining the SoC within a determined range - H01M 10/425: {Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing (printed circuits H05K1/00)} - H01M 50/512: Connection only in parallel - H02J 7/50: acting upon multiple batteries simultaneously or sequentially - H02J 7/54: Passive balancing, e.g. using resistors or parallel MOSFETs - H02J 7/575: {Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit} - H02J 7/82: Control of state of charge [SOC] - H02J 7/933: {the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters} - B60L 2240/547: Voltage - H01M 10/44: Methods for charging or discharging (circuits for charging H02J7/00) - H01M 10/48: Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte (constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569) - H01M 2010/4271: {Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing} - Y02E 60/10: Energy storage using batteries - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract Management device manages a plurality of power storage modules connected in parallel to load via switches. With some of switches connected to some of the plurality of power storage modules being in an on state and other switches connected to other power storage modules being in an off state, determination unit of management device does not permit at least one of other switches in the off state to be turned on in a case where at least one switch is turned on and an upper limit value of a current or power allowed to be supplied to load entirely from the plurality of power storage modules with at least one switch being turned on becomes less than or equal to a value before the turning-on of at least one switch. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A management device that manages a plurality of power storage modules each connected in parallel to a load via a switch, the management device comprising a determination unit that determines, in a state where, within the plurality of power storage modules, the switch connected to each of one or more power storage modules of the plurality of power storage modules is in an on state and the switch connected to each of one or more remaining power storage modules of the plurality of power storage modules is in an off state, whether an upper limit value of current or power allowed to be supplied to the load entirely from the plurality of power storage modules after the switch of one of the one or more remaining power storage modules is turned on, is less than or equal to a prior value of the current or the power before turning on the switch of the one of the one or more remaining power storage modules, and upon determining that the upper limit value is less than or equal to the prior value, does not permit the switch of the one of the one or more remaining power storage modules in the off state to be turned on. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The management device according to claim 1, further comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires at least states of charge of the plurality of power storage modules; and a calculation unit that estimates the upper limit value of the current or the power allowed to be supplied entirely from the plurality of power storage modules to the load, based on SOC-discharge upper limit characteristics that define a relationship between the states of charge of the plurality of power storage modules and upper limit values of currents or power allowed to be discharged from the plurality of power storage modules, wherein in the SOC-discharge upper limit characteristics, an upper limit value of current or power allowed to be discharged from the plurality of power storage modules decreases as a state of charge of the plurality of power storage modules decreases. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The management device according to claim 2, wherein the acquisition unit acquires an open circuit voltage of one of the one or more remaining power storage module as a connection candidate, the calculation unit derives the upper limit value of the current or the power allowed to be discharged from the power storage module as the connection candidate, based on the SOC-discharge upper limit characteristics and a state of charge of the one or more power storage module modules connected to the load, and estimates a closed circuit voltage of the connection candidate when discharging is performed from the connection candidate at the upper limit values estimated, and the determination unit does not permit the switch connected to the connection candidate to be turned on when the open circuit voltage of the connection candidate is lower than the closed circuit voltage estimated of the connection candidate. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The management device according to claim 2, wherein the calculation unit estimates, based on the SOC-discharge upper limit characteristics, a state of charge of the one or more power storage modules connected to the load, and a state of charge of one of the one or more remaining power storage modules as a connection candidate, the upper limit value of the current or the power allowed to be supplied to the load entirely from the plurality of power storage modules when the state of charge of the one or more power storage modules connected to the load corresponds to the state of charge of the connection candidate after the switch connected to the connection candidate is turned on, and the determination unit does not permit the switch connected to the connection candidate to be turned on when the upper limit value estimated is less than an upper limit value before the turning on of the switch connected to the connection candidate. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The management device according to claim 2, wherein: when the power is started to be supplied from the plurality of power storage modules to the load, the switch connected to a power storage module with a highest open circuit voltage among the plurality of power storage modules is turned on, and a connection candidate of which the switch to be turned on next is the power storage module with the highest open circuit voltage among the one or more remaining power storage modules each of which the switch is in the off state. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A power supply system comprising: the management device according to claim 1; and the plurality of power storage modules connected in parallel to the load via the switch. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The power supply system according to claim 6, wherein: the load includes a motor of a moving body, and the management device notifies a controller in the moving body of an upper limit value of current or power allowed to be supplied entirely from the plurality of power storage modules to the motor.