US 8,076,016 B2Granted

Common mode voltage enumeration in a battery pack

AssigneeTesla Motors, Inc.

InventorsAndrew Baglino, Philip David Cole

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for these embodiments of the present invention, useful in manufacturing for example, includes a plurality of battery modules serially intercoupled together, each module including a housing with an anode connector and a cathode connector, each housing including a memory for storing a module identifier and wherein an anode connector of a first module is coupled to a cathode connector of a second module; and a processing system, coupled to each the module, for determining a plurality of positional attributes of each the module, one positional attribute associated with each the module of the plurality of modules, the processing system writing an ID into the memory of each particular module responsive to the associated positional attribute for the particular module.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of battery modules serially intercoupled together, each module including a housing with an anode connector and a cathode connector, wherein an anode connector of a first module is coupled to a cathode connector of a second module, and wherein each said module includes a reference developed from a static measurement of a reference positional attribute of said plurality of modules wherein said reference positional attribute of each particular module identifies a particular reference location of said particular module in said serially intercoupled plurality of battery modules relative to other battery modules of said plurality of modules;
a processing system, coupled to each said module, for determining a plurality of current positional attributes for said plurality of battery modules, one current positional attribute associated with each said module of said plurality of modules wherein said current positional attribute of each particular module identifies a particular current location of said particular module in said serially intercoupled plurality of battery modules relative to other battery modules of said plurality of modules;
a comparator, coupled to said processing system, for comparing a reference positional attribute for a particular reference associated with a particular one battery module to said current positional attribute of said particular one battery module;
and
a monitor, coupled to said comparator, for flagging said particular one battery module when a predetermined relationship exists between said reference positional attribute and said current positional attribute wherein existence of said predetermined relationship indicates that said particular current location of said particular one module is different from said particular reference location.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/498,280Filed 6 Jul 2009 · continuation
Published: US 2011/0003183 A16 Jan 2011
Granted: 13 Dec 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H01M 6/425
Grouping of primary cells into batteries: multimode batteries, batteries with "reserve cells"
H01M 10/4207
Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells: for several batteries or cells simultaneously or…
H01M 50/204
Mountings; Secondary casings or frames; Racks, modules or packs; Suspension devices; Shock absorbers; Transport or carrying devices; Holders:…
H01M 10/0525
Li-accumulators: rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries

Family

Application12/498,251Parent of this continuation · filed 6 Jul 2009
US 2011/0004438 A1Pre-grant publication · published 6 Jan 2011
US 2011/0003183 A1Published application
US 8,765,276 B2Related patent
US 8,076,016 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.