BIDIRECTIONAL POWER CONVERTER FOR BALANCING STATE OF CHARGE AMONG SERIES CONNECTED ELECTRICAL ENERGY STORAGE UNITS

• US 20080191663A1
• Filed: 04/18/2008
• Published: 08/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tiax, LLC
• Original Assignee: Tiax, LLC
• Inventors: Onnerud, Per, Fowler, J. Thomas, King, Darrell J., Chertok, Allan, Larocque, Gerald R., Shi, Jay J.
• Application Number:
  US12/105,846
• Publication Number:
  US 20080191663A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/118
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/56 Temperature prediction, e.g. for pre-cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/18 of two or more battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/22 Balancing the charge of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• 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: H02J 7/0019 using switched or multiplexed charge circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A system is provided for balancing state of charge among plural series connected electrical energy storage units that includes a power converter that selectively couples to an individual storage unit of the a string of electrical energy storage units and transfers energy by bidirectionally between the individual storage unit and the string of storage units.

Claims

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A system, comprising:

a string of electrical energy storage units having a first end and a second end; and

a buck-boost dc-dc power converted coupled simultaneously to a selected portion of the string of electrical energy storage units and to the first and second ends of the string of electrical energy storage units, the power converter being configured to transfer energy bidirectionally between the selected portion of the string of storage units and the end points of the string of storage units,

wherein the power converter is configured to transfer energy at a controllable rate of transfer, and

the power converter comprises;

an up-converter configured to transfer energy from the selected portion of the string of storage units to the end points of the string of storage units; and

a down-converter configured to transfer energy from the string of storage units to the selected portion of the string of storage units.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the power converter is configured to monitor voltage and current data of the selected portion of the string of storage units resulting from a transfer of energy.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the power converter is configured to transfer units of energy between the selected portion of the string of storage units and the end points of the string of storage units.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the power converter comprises:

a primary inductor;

a first secondary inductor magnetically coupled to the primary inductor;

a first switch selectively coupling the selected portion of the string of storage units to the primary inductor; and

the first secondary inductor coupling to an output capacitor;

the output capacitor coupled in parallel to the string of storage units.

27. The system of claim 23, further comprising:

a primary inductor;

a first secondary inductor magnetically coupled to the primary inductor;

a switch selectively coupling the first secondary inductor to the end points of the string of storage units, and configured to transfer energy from the string of storage units to charge the first secondary inductor when the switch is on, and to discharge energy into the primary inductor and charging the selected portion of the string of individual storage units when the switch is of.

28. The system of claim 23, wherein a common transfer is configured to serve as the up-converter and the down converter.

29. The system of claim 23, wherein each storage unit is a storage cell.

30. The system of claim 23, wherein each storage unit is a battery module having a string of storage units.

31. The system of claim 23, wherein a battery pack comprises a string of one or more storage units.