Systems and methods for management and monitoring of energy storage and distribution

• US 10,389,141 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2015
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Roumi, Mahshid, Roumi, Farshid
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Arun C
• Application Number:
  US14/975,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20160190833A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• Field of Search: 320136
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00001 characterised by the display of information or by user interaction, e.g. supervisory control and data acquisition systems [SCADA] or graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00002 characterised by monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/40 adapted for charging from various sources, e.g. AC, DC or multivoltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0025 Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00714 in response to battery charging or discharging current
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/30 State monitoring, e.g. fault, temperature monitoring, insulator monitoring, corona discharge

Abstract

A plurality of battery packs is provided in communication with an energy monitoring and control system. Each battery pack includes a plurality of battery cells that collectively dictate the capabilities of the battery pack. The energy monitoring and control system determines a plurality of pack charging or pack discharging parameters for each battery pack that, when performed, achieve one or more performance metrics at a user level (e.g., performance metrics of each battery pack within a system of multiple battery packs). The battery pack further determines a plurality of cell charging or cell discharging parameters for each battery cell based upon the determined plurality of pack charging or pack discharging parameters for each battery cell that, when performed, achieve one or more performance metrics at a battery level (e.g., performance metrics of different cells of each battery pack).

Claims

1. A method for discharging a battery pack, comprising:

providing a battery pack comprising at least two energy storage units in electrical communication with one another, each energy storage unit comprising;

a battery cell operative to store energy received from an energy source and output stored energy as a direct current; and

a cell monitoring and management component in electrical communication with a negative terminal of its battery cell, a positive terminal of its battery cell, and at least one of a negative terminal and a positive terminal of at least one adjacent battery cell; and

a battery pack monitoring and management component in electrical communication with each battery cell;

transmitting, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, a desired cell discharging current profile and at least one desired cell parameter for a selected battery cell to its cell monitoring and management component;

outputting, by the selected battery cell, a first discharging current profile in response to receipt of the desired cell discharging profile and the desired cell parameter by its cell monitoring and management component;

measuring, by the cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, at least one cell parameter of the selected battery cell in response to output of the first discharging current profile, wherein at least one measured cell parameter corresponds to the desired cell parameter; and

adjusting, by the cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, the current profile output of the selected battery cell from the first discharging current output to a second discharging current output, different from the first discharging current output, if at least one measured cell parameter corresponding the desired cell parameter differs from the desired cell parameter by a selected threshold for the selected battery cell, wherein the second discharging current profile is different from the first discharging current profile;

wherein the selected threshold comprises at least one of;

2 or more standard deviations difference from the mean of statistical data points, 5% or more difference from an expected value, 10% or more difference from an expected value, 20% or more difference from an expected value, and 50% or more difference from an expected value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first discharging current profile comprises at least of one or more of:

a constant, a step function, a linear decrease, a linear increase, and combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second discharging current profile comprises one or more of:

a constant, a step function, a linear decrease, a linear increase, and combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the measured cell parameter is at least one of:

voltage, current, internal impedance, state of charge, charging rate temperature, pressure, acoustic emissions, optical emissions temperature, stress, strain, internal DC resistance, real internal AC impedance for a specific AC frequency, imaginary AC impedance for a specific AC frequency, open circuit voltage after a short non-charging period during the charging, and combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired cell parameter is a cell state of charge, wherein a difference between the an actual cell state of charge estimated based on the measured cell parameters and the desired cell state of charge is 5% and second discharging current profile is selected such that the energy output from the battery cell is reduced for a selected future time period by the second discharging current profile as compared to the energy output from the battery cell for the selected future time period by the first discharging current profile.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second discharging current profile reduces the difference between the actual state of charge and the desired state of charge to less than the selected threshold.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the second discharging current profile includes at least one of decreasing the discharging current, and decreasing a duration of active discharging of the cell during a discharging period of the battery pack.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, during discharging, the voltage output of the cell monitoring and management component is higher than the voltage output of the cell itself.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the battery pack further comprises a battery pack monitoring and management component in electrical communication with each energy storage unit and wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the cell monitoring and management component of each energy storage unit, the desired cell parameter for its battery cell from the battery pack monitoring and management component.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising transmitting, by the cell monitoring and management component of the selected cell, the at least one measured cell parameter for the selected battery cell to the battery pack monitoring and management component.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, at least one of a state of health or a state of charge for a selected battery cell in response to receipt of its measured cell parameter.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, an updated desired cell parameter for the selected battery cell based upon its determined state of health or state of charge; and

transmitting, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, the updated desired cell parameter for the selected battery cell to its cell monitoring and management component.

13. A method for discharging a battery pack, comprising:

providing a battery pack comprising;

at least two energy storage units in electrical communication with one another, each energy storage unit comprising;

a battery cell operative to store energy received from an energy source and output stored energy as a direct current; and

a cell monitoring and management component in electrical communication with a negative terminal of its battery cell, a positive terminal of its battery cell, and at least one of a negative terminal or a positive terminal of at least one adjacent battery cell; and

a battery pack monitoring and management component in electrical communication with each of the energy storage units;

transmitting, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, a desired cell discharging current profile and at least one desired cell parameter for a selected battery cell to its cell monitoring and management component;

outputting, by the selected battery cell, a first discharging current profile in response to receipt of the desired cell discharging profile and the desired cell parameter by its cell monitoring and management component;

measuring, by cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, at least one cell parameter of the selected battery cell resulting from output of the first discharging current profile by the selected battery cell;

estimating, by at least one of the cell monitoring and management component or the battery pack monitoring and management component, a state of charge and state of health of the selected battery cell, based on the values of at least one cell parameter profile;

communicating, by the cell monitoring and management component, at least one cell parameter measurement of its battery cell, an estimated state of charge of the selected battery cell, and an estimated state of health of the selected battery cell to at least one other cell monitoring and management component corresponding to a battery cell in electrical communication with the selected battery cell or to the battery pack monitoring and management component;

estimating, by at least one of the cell monitoring and management component or the battery pack monitoring and management component, at least one desired cell parameter value for the selected battery cell, based on information determined from the selected battery cell itself, at least one battery cell in electrical communication with the selected battery cell and the battery pack monitoring and management component;

determining, by at least one of the cell monitoring and management component or the battery pack monitoring and management component, a second discharging current profile for the selected battery cell, based on the estimated cell state of charge of the selected battery cell, the estimated state of health of the selected battery cell, and the first discharging profile; and

transmitting, by the cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, the second discharging current profile from between the positive and negative terminals of the selected battery cell, if at least one of the measured cell parameters for the selected battery cell differs from a desired cell parameter for the selected battery cell by a selected threshold for the selected battery cell, wherein the second discharging current profile is different from the first discharging current profile;

wherein the selected threshold comprises at least one of;

2 or more standard deviations difference from the mean of statistical data points, 5% or more difference from an expected value, 10% or more difference from an expected value, 20% or more difference from an expected value, and 50% or more difference from an expected value.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first discharging current profile comprises at least one or more of:

a constant, a step function, a linear decrease, a linear increase, and combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the second discharging current profile comprises at least one or more of:

a constant, a step function, a linear decrease, a linear increase, and combinations thereof.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the measured cell parameter is at least one of voltage, current, internal impedance, state of charge, charging rate temperature, pressure, acoustic emissions, optical emissions temperature, stress, strain, internal DC resistance, real internal AC impedance for a specific AC frequency, imaginary AC impedance for a specific AC frequency, open circuit voltage after a short non-charging period during the charging, and combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the difference between the estimated cell state of charge based on the measured cell parameters and the desired cell state of charge is 5% and the second discharging current profile comprises one or more of:

reducing the discharging current output of the cell by the cell monitoring and management component to a lower level such that the output voltage of the cell converts to a higher value at any time such that the power output stays the same and decreasing the duration of active discharging of the cell during the discharging period of the pack.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the second discharging profile reduces the difference between the newly measured cell parameter and a desired value of the cell parameter to less than the selected threshold.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the battery pack further comprises a battery pack monitoring and management component in electrical communication with each energy storage unit and wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the cell monitoring and management component of each energy storage unit, the desired cell parameter for its cell from the battery pack monitoring and management component.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising transmitting, by the cell monitoring and management component, the measured cell parameter for its cell to the battery pack monitoring and management component.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, at least one of a state of health, a state of charge, for a selected battery cell in response to receipt of its measured cell parameter.

22. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

transmitting, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, the desired cell parameter for the selected battery cell to its cell monitoring and management component;

determining, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, an updated desired cell parameter for the selected battery cell based upon its determined state of health or state of charge; and

transmitting, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, the updated desired cell parameter for the selected battery cell to the cell monitoring and management component.

23. A method for discharging a battery pack, comprising:

providing a battery pack comprising at least two energy storage units in electrical communication with one another, each energy storage unit comprising;

a battery cell operative to store energy received from an energy source and output stored energy as a direct current; and

a cell monitoring and management component in electrical communication with a negative terminal of its battery cell, a positive terminal of its battery cell, and at least one of a negative terminal and a positive terminal of at least one adjacent battery cell; and

a battery pack monitoring and management component in electrical communication with each battery cell;

transmitting, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, a desired cell discharging current profile and at least one desired cell parameter for a selected battery cell to its cell monitoring and management component;

outputting, by the selected battery cell, a first discharging current profile in response to receipt of the desired cell discharging profile and the desired cell parameter by its cell monitoring and management component;

measuring, by the cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, at least one cell parameter of the selected battery cell in response to output of the first discharging current profile, wherein at least one measured cell parameter corresponds to the desired cell parameter; and

adjusting, by the cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, the current profile output of the selected battery cell from the first discharging current output to a second discharging current output, different from the first discharging current output, if at least one measured cell parameter corresponding the desired cell parameter differs from the desired cell parameter by a selected threshold for the selected battery cell, wherein the second discharging current profile is different from the first discharging current profile;

wherein the desired cell parameter is a cell state of charge, wherein a difference between the an actual cell state of charge estimated based on the measured cell parameters and the desired cell state of charge is 5% and second discharging current profile is selected such that the energy output from the battery cell is reduced for a selected future time period by the second discharging current profile as compared to the energy output from the battery cell for the selected future time period by the first discharging current profile.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the second discharging current profile reduces the difference between the actual state of charge and the desired state of charge to less than the selected threshold.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the second discharging current profile includes at least one of decreasing the discharging current, and decreasing a duration of active discharging of the cell during a discharging period of the battery pack.

26. A method for discharging a battery pack, comprising:

providing a battery pack comprising;

at least two energy storage units in electrical communication with one another, each energy storage unit comprising;

a battery cell operative to store energy received from an energy source and output stored energy as a direct current; and

a cell monitoring and management component in electrical communication with a negative terminal of its battery cell, a positive terminal of its battery cell, and at least one of a negative terminal or a positive terminal of at least one adjacent battery cell; and

a battery pack monitoring and management component in electrical communication with each of the energy storage units;

transmitting, by the battery pack monitoring and management component, a desired cell discharging current profile and at least one desired cell parameter for a selected battery cell to its cell monitoring and management component;

outputting, by the selected battery cell, a first discharging current profile in response to receipt of the desired cell discharging profile and the desired cell parameter by its cell monitoring and management component;

measuring, by cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, at least one cell parameter of the selected battery cell resulting from output of the first discharging current profile by the selected battery cell;

estimating, by at least one of the cell monitoring and management component or the battery pack monitoring and management component, a state of charge and state of health of the selected battery cell, based on the values of at least one cell parameter profile;

communicating, by the cell monitoring and management component, at least one cell parameter measurement of its battery cell, an estimated state of charge of the selected battery cell, and an estimated state of health of the selected battery cell to at least one other cell monitoring and management component corresponding to a battery cell in electrical communication with the selected battery cell or to the battery pack monitoring and management component;

estimating, by at least one of the cell monitoring and management component or the battery pack monitoring and management component, at least one desired cell parameter value for the selected battery cell, based on information determined from the selected battery cell itself, at least one battery cell in electrical communication with the selected battery cell and the battery pack monitoring and management component;

determining, by at least one of the cell monitoring and management component or the battery pack monitoring and management component, a second discharging current profile for the selected battery cell, based on the estimated cell state of charge of the selected battery cell, the estimated state of health of the selected battery cell, and the first discharging profile; and

transmitting, by the cell monitoring and management component of the selected battery cell, the second discharging current profile from between the positive and negative terminals of the selected battery cell, if at least one of the measured cell parameters for the selected battery cell differs from a desired cell parameter for the selected battery cell by a selected threshold for the selected battery cell, wherein the second discharging current profile is different from the first discharging current profile;

wherein the difference between the estimated cell state of charge based on the measured cell parameters and the desired cell state of charge is 5% and the second discharging current profile comprises one or more of;

reducing the discharging current output of the cell by the cell monitoring and management component to a lower level such that the output voltage of the cell converts to a higher value at any time such that the power output stays the same and decreasing the duration of active discharging of the cell during the discharging period of the pack.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the second discharging profile reduces the difference between the newly measured cell parameter and a desired value of the cell parameter to less than the selected threshold.