Modular battery controller

• US 10,236,693 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2016
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Administrator of NASA
• Original Assignee: United States Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Inventors: Button, Robert, Gonzalez, Marcelo C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Isla, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dibenedetto, Michael
• Application Number:
  US15/383,093
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 320116, 320119, 320122, 320132, 710105, 710110, 710111, 710113, 710119, 713340
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0016 using shunting, discharge or bypass circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0018 using separate charge circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

Some embodiments of the present invention describe a battery including a plurality of master-less controllers. Each controller is operatively connected to a corresponding cell in a string of cells, and each controller is configured to bypass a fraction of current around the corresponding cell when the corresponding cell has a greater charge than one or more other cells in the string of cells.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a string of battery cells;

a plurality of master-less controllers, wherein each one of the plurality of controllers is conductively connected to a corresponding battery cell in the string; and

a communication bus communicably coupled to each one of the master-less controllers;

wherein each controller is configured to;

determine a voltage of its corresponding battery cell via a direct conductive connection between the controller and its corresponding battery cell;

receive, via the communication bus, a voltage of an additional battery cell of the string corresponding to another one of the controllers, wherein the additional voltage was measured by the other controller;

determine that a difference between the voltage and the additional voltage is above a threshold amount; and

in response to the determination, bypass a fraction of current around its corresponding cell to diminish the difference.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the string of battery cells is configured to set an overall voltage provided by the apparatus, wherein the apparatus further comprises an additional string of battery cells connected in parallel to the string of battery cells, wherein the additional string of battery cells is configured to set an overall current delivered by the apparatus at the overall voltage.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:

a power source conductively connected to the string of battery cells via a first power line; and

a relay driver conductively connected to the first power line via a second power line, wherein the second power line comprises a fuse, wherein the relay driver is configured to monitor the overall voltage and the overall current.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the relay driver is configured to disconnect the power source from the first power line in response to the overall voltage being outside a first predefined range or the overall current being outside a second predefined range.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the each of the controllers is configured to monitor a temperature of its corresponding battery cell in the string of cells.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the each of the controllers is further configured to monitor temperatures of at least one of the other cells in the string of battery cells.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the controllers is communicably coupled to the relay driver via the communications bus, wherein each of the controllers is configured to transmit a shutdown command to the relay driver in response to determining that the temperature of its corresponding battery cell exceeds a threshold temperature.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the relay driver is configured to broadcast the overall voltage of the apparatus to each of the controllers via the communications bus.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the controllers comprises a comparator, a voltage reference, and a bypass circuit, wherein the comparator and voltage reference of each controller are conductively connected to a positive voltage terminal of that controller'"'"'s corresponding battery cell, wherein the bypass circuit is conductively connected to an output of the comparator, wherein the bypass circuit is configured to bypass the fraction of current around the corresponding cell when the corresponding cell has a higher voltage than the additional battery cell by the threshold amount.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the bypass circuit of each of the controllers includes a switch conductively connected to the output of the comparator and a resistor in series with the switch, wherein a resistance of the resistor is adjustable to set a maximum bypass current for the bypass circuit.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising

measuring, by a first master-less controller of a charge control apparatus, a first voltage of a first battery cell in a string of battery cells, wherein the first master-less controller has a direct conductive connection to the first battery cell, wherein the charge control apparatus includes a plurality of master-less controllers, each of the master-less controllers directly connected to a different corresponding battery cell in the string of battery cells;

receiving, by the first master-less controller, a plurality of voltages of a plurality of battery cells from master-less controllers corresponding to different ones of the plurality of battery cells;

determining, by the first master-less controller, a maximal difference between the first voltage and one of the plurality of voltages; and

in response to the maximal difference being greater than a first threshold value, bypassing, by the first master-less controller, a fraction of current around the first battery cell.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 further comprising determining, by the first master-less controller, a minimal difference between the first voltage and another one of the plurality of voltages;

and

in response to the minimal difference being less than a second threshold value, transmitting, by the first master-less controller, a bad cell signal to notify a user that the first battery cell is malfunctioning.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising, in response to determining that the maximal difference is between the first threshold value and a second threshold value, maintaining current through the first battery cell.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising maintaining current through the first battery cell when the minimal difference is less than the second threshold value.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the second threshold value is negative and has a greater magnitude than the first threshold value.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a string of battery cells;

a plurality of master-less controllers, wherein each one of the plurality of controllers is conductively connected to a corresponding battery cell in the string;

a communication bus communicably coupled to each one of the master-less controllers;

wherein each controller is configured to;

determine a voltage of its corresponding battery cell via a direct conductive connection between the controller and its corresponding battery cell;

receive an overall voltage provided by the string of batteries via a first power line;

determine that a neighboring one of the controllers is inactive based on not receiving an identifier associated with that neighboring controller, wherein the neighboring controller is directly connected to another one of the battery cells; and

in response to the determination, calculate a neighboring voltage of the other battery cell based on the voltage of its corresponding battery cell and the overall voltage.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising:

a power source conductively connected to the string of battery cells via a second power line; and

a relay driver conductively connected to the second power line via a third power line, wherein the third power line comprises a fuse, wherein the relay driver is configured to monitor the overall voltage of the string of battery cells.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein each one of the plurality of master-less controllers is communicably coupled to the relay driver via the communication bus.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein each one the controllers are configured to:

determine that the overall voltage is above a first threshold value; and

in response to the determination, transmit a shutdown command to the relay driver to cause the relay driver to disconnect the power source from the string of battery cells.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein each one the controllers is configured to:

determine that the voltage of its corresponding battery cell is greater than the neighboring voltage by more than a second threshold value; and

in response to the determination, bypass a fraction of the overall current around its corresponding battery cell to reduce the difference.