Managing battery state of charge levels on an electric machine
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsSrikar Thaduvayi, Hua Xu, Justin Dale Middleton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Various techniques to maintain the same state of charge levels between multiple battery strings, manage battery string usage during machine idle/low power conditions, and manage the usage of battery strings with insufficient state of charge level.
Claims20
An electrical system for providing electrical power to at least one traction component and at least one accessory component of an electric machine, the electrical system comprising:
- a battery system configured to supply power to a component of the electric machine, the battery system comprising:
- a plurality of battery strings, wherein each battery string includes a battery module having at least one battery cell;
- an electronic control module configured to receive a representation of a state of charge of each battery string, the electronic control module including a control unit configured to:
- determine which battery string has a highest state of charge;
- and
- select, based on a load requirement of the at least one accessory component, the battery string with the highest state of charge to provide power to the at least one accessory component when the highest state of charge exceeds a state of charge of another battery string by a threshold value;
- and
- an output coupled to the battery system and configured to supply the electrical power to the at least one accessory component without supplying power to the at least one traction component.
An electrical system for providing electrical power to at least one traction component and at least one accessory component of an electric machine, the electrical system comprising:
- a battery system configured to supply power to a component of the electric machine, the battery system comprising:
- a plurality of battery strings, wherein each battery string includes a battery module having at least one battery cell;
- an electronic control module configured to receive a representation of a state of charge of each battery string, the electronic control module including a control unit configured to:
- compare states of charge of corresponding battery strings to a threshold;
- when one of the states of charge is below the threshold, selectively isolate the corresponding battery string so as to prevent the battery string from providing power to the at least one accessory component;
- and
- an output coupled to the battery system and configured to supply the electrical power to the at least one accessory component without supplying power to the at least one traction component.
A method for providing electrical power to at least one traction component and at least one accessory component of an electric machine, the method comprising:
- receiving a representation of a state of charge of each battery string of a plurality battery string;
- determining which battery string has a highest state of charge;
- and
- selecting, based on a load requirement of the at least one accessory component, the battery string with the highest state of charge to provide power to the at least one accessory component when the highest state of charge exceeds a state of charge of another battery string by a threshold value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.