Battery control with block selection

A battery control circuit for a battery comprising:

• a plurality of battery blocks, each of the battery blocks comprising at least one battery cell to provide a block voltage of the battery block;
• a controller configured to:
• select a first number of the battery blocks;
• control coupling the first number of the battery blocks to voltage terminals of the battery to set a battery voltage which corresponds to the sum of the block voltages of the first number of the battery blocks;
• select a second number of the battery blocks, wherein to select the second number of the battery blocks comprises to:
• estimate a load on the battery;
• compare the estimated load to a threshold value;
• and
• select the second number of the battery blocks to be lower than the first number of the battery blocks when the estimated load is above the threshold value;
• and
• control coupling of the second number of the battery blocks to the voltage terminals of the battery to set a battery voltage which corresponds to the sum of the block voltages of the second number of the battery blocks.

A battery system comprising:

• a first voltage terminal and a second voltage terminal;
• a plurality of battery blocks, each of the battery blocks comprising at least one battery cell to provide a block voltage of the battery block;
• a controller configured to:
• select a first number of the battery blocks;
• control coupling the first number of the battery blocks to the voltage terminals to set a battery voltage which corresponds to the sum of the block voltages of the first number of the battery blocks;
• select a second number of the battery blocks, wherein to select the second number of the battery blocks comprises to:
• estimate a load on the battery;
• compare the estimated load to a threshold value;
• and
• select the second number of the battery blocks to be lower than the first number of the battery blocks when the estimated load is above the threshold value;
• and
• control coupling of the second number of the battery blocks to the voltage terminals to set a battery voltage which corresponds to the sum of the block voltages of the second number of the battery blocks.

A control circuit for a battery block with at least one battery cell, a first connection node and a second connection node to connect the battery block between a first voltage terminal and a second voltage terminal of a battery, the control circuit comprising:

• at least one first switch to selectively disconnect the at least one battery cell of the battery block from at least one of the first connection node and the second connection node of the battery block;
• at least one second switch to selectively close a bypass connection between the first connection node and the second connection node of the battery block;
• and
• a control logic configured to generate control signals for the at least one first switch and the at least one second switch to switch between configurations in such a way that when an estimated load on the battery is above a threshold value, the battery block is switched from a first configuration to a second configuration so that a number of battery blocks connected between the first voltage terminal and the second voltage terminal of the battery circuit is decreased, the control logic comprising:
• the first configuration in which the bypass connection between the first connection node and the second connection node of the battery block is open and the at least one battery cell of the battery block is connected between the first connection node and the second connection node, and
• the second configuration in which the bypass connection between the first connection node and the second connection node of the battery block is closed and the at least one battery cell of the battery block is disconnected from at least one of the first connection node and the second connection node of the battery block.