Control system for managing battery cells with one or more DC-to-DC converters

A control system for managing battery cells for a series of successive time intervals, the control system comprising:

• a battery including battery terminals and an array of battery cells, the array of battery cells including a plurality of battery cells, each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells including cellular terminals;
• an electronic data processor configured to execute software instructions of a cell balancing module and a current estimator, wherein the cell balancing module and the current estimator are storable in a data storage device in communication with the electronic data processor;
• wherein the current estimator is configured to
• estimate a target charging current limit or a range of target charging current for a charging mode and a target discharging current limit or a range of target discharging current for a discharging mode for each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells for a time interval;
• a first direct-current to direct-current (DC-to-DC) converter configured to convert a first input direct-current voltage to a first output direct-current voltage with a regulated charging current, the first output direct-current voltage consistent with the target charging current limit or the range of target charging current for the charging mode estimated by the current estimator for the charging mode, and consistent with respective cell identifiers determined by the cell balancing module for the charging mode for the time interval;
• a first controller configured to control the charging, individually or collectively, of each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells by adjusting at least one of the regulated charging current outputted by the first DC-to-DC converter or a duty cycle of switches of the first DC-to-DC converter based on the target charging current limit or the range of target charging current for the charging mode for the time interval;
• a second direct-current to direct-current (DC-to-DC) converter configured to convert a second input direct-current voltage to a second output direct-current voltage with a regulated discharging current, the second output direct-current voltage consistent with the target discharging current limit or the range of target discharging current for the discharging mode estimated by the current estimator for the discharging mode, and consistent respective cell identifiers determined by the cell balancing module for the discharging mode for the time interval;
• a second controller configured to control discharging, individually or collectively, of each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells by adjusting at least one of the regulated discharging current outputted by the second DC-to-DC converter or a duty cycle of switches of second DC-to-DC converter based on the target discharging current limit or the range of target discharging current the discharging mode for the time interval;
• a switch matrix interface including a set of switches configured to enable or disable, selectively by the electronic data processor, a first electrical connection between DC output terminals of the first DC-to-DC converter and one or more cellular terminals of the battery cells, and the set of switches is further configured to enable or disable, selectively by the electronic data processor, a second electrical connection between DC output terminals of the second DC-to-DC converter and the one or more cellular terminals of the battery cells, wherein each battery cell of the battery cells is configured to operate in a mutually exclusive charging mode or discharging mode during any time interval;
• and
• a plurality of sensors associated with the battery, or each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells, the plurality of sensors including a voltage sensor and a current sensor configured to provide sensed voltages and sensed currents for corresponding battery cells, for any time interval, to at least one of the electronic data processor and the cell balancing module, or the current estimator;
• wherein at least one of the cell balancing module or the current estimator is configured to cause the control system to determine whether each battery cell of the battery cells operates in the charging mode or the discharging mode for any time interval based on the sensed voltages and the sensed currents for the corresponding battery cells, the cell balancing module configured to provide control signals to enable or disable switching states of the switches within the switch matrix interface to establish the first electrical connection or the second electrical connection for each battery cell of the battery cells,
• wherein at least one of the electronic data processor, the cell balancing module, or the current estimator is configured to cause the control system to determine a state of power (SOP) of each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells, and determine whether to individually apply the regulated charging current or the regulated discharging current to at least one battery cell of the plurality of battery cells based on the SOP determined for the at least one battery cell of the plurality of battery cells, and
• wherein the electronic data processor or the first controller is configured to determine the target charging current limit that has a lower target charging current limit and an upper target charging current limit for one or more battery cells in the charging mode based on a state-of-charge (SOC) and the state of power (SOP) for the one or more battery cells in the charging mode for any time interval.