LI-ION BATTERY ARRAY FOR VEHICLE AND OTHER LARGE CAPACITY APPLICATIONS
First Claim
1. An electric vehicle comprising:
- an electric drive;
a series array of battery modules powering the electric drive, each battery module comprising;
plural electrical energy storage cells; and
module management electronics that monitor each battery module, control each battery module in protective modes and communicate conditions of each battery module;
a controller that receives module conditions communicated from the module management electronics and controls operation of individual battery modules in the array; and
charging circuitry that charges the storage cells of the battery modules from a current source.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A large battery array, particularly for use in an electric vehicle, is formed of multiple modules, each containing plural battery cells and module management electronics. Each battery module has a nominal output voltage in the range of about 5 volts to about 17 volts. A controller communicates with individual battery modules in the array and controls switching to connect the modules in drive and charging configurations. The module management electronics monitor conditions of each battery module, including the cells it contains, and communicates these conditions to the controller. The module management electronics may place the modules in protective modes based upon the performance of each module in comparison to known or configurable specifications. The modules may be pluggable devices so that each module may be replaced if the module is in a permanent shutdown protective mode or if a non-optimal serviceable fault is detected.
163 Citations
40 Claims
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1. An electric vehicle comprising:
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an electric drive; a series array of battery modules powering the electric drive, each battery module comprising; plural electrical energy storage cells; and module management electronics that monitor each battery module, control each battery module in protective modes and communicate conditions of each battery module; a controller that receives module conditions communicated from the module management electronics and controls operation of individual battery modules in the array; and charging circuitry that charges the storage cells of the battery modules from a current source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of storing charge for an electric vehicle comprising:
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powering an electric drive using a series array of battery modules, each battery module including storage cells and module management electronics; configuring the module management electronics to monitor each battery module, control each battery module in protective modes, and communicate conditions of each battery module; receiving module conditions communicated from the module management electronics; controlling operation of individual battery modules in the array; and charging the storage cells of the battery modules from a current source. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A battery array comprising:
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an array of battery modules, each battery module comprising; plural electrical energy storage cells; and module management electronics that monitor each battery module, control each battery module in protective modes, and communicate conditions of each battery module; a controller that receives module conditions communicated from the module management electronics and controls operation of individual battery modules in the array; and charging circuitry that charges the storage cells of each battery module from an alternating current source through an individual alternating current to direct current charging circuit to the battery module. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An electric vehicle comprising:
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an electric drive; an array of battery modules powering the electric drive, each module having a nominal output voltage in the range of about 9V to about 17V and being adapted for ready individual removal and replacement, comprising; plural electrical energy storage cells; and module management electronics that monitor temperature, current, capacity, and voltage of each battery module, control each battery module in temporary shutdown protective mode and permanent shutdown protective mode, and communicate temperature, current, capacity, and voltage conditions of each battery module; a controller that receives battery module overcharge, overdischarge, and temperature conditions communicated from the module management electronics, controls operation of individual battery modules in the array, controls individual connections between the drive, the battery modules, and the charging circuitry, and alerts for replacement of battery modules; and charging circuitry that charges the storage cells of the battery modules from an alternating current source through an individual alternating current to direct current charging circuit to the battery module. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A battery array comprising:
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an array of battery modules, each module having a nominal output voltage in the range of about 5V to about 17V and being adapted for ready individual removal and replacement, comprising; plural electrical energy storage cells; and module management electronics that monitor temperature, current, capacity, and voltage of each battery module, control the battery module in temporary shutdown protective mode and permanent shutdown protective mode and communicate temperature, current, capacity, and voltage conditions of each battery module; a controller that receives battery module overcharge, overdischarge, and temperature conditions communicated from the module management electronics and controls operation of individual battery modules in the array; and charging circuitry that charges the storage cells of each battery module from an alternating current source through an individual alternating current to direct current charging circuit to the battery module and configured to control the voltage of each battery module to allow for balancing while each battery module is charging.
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34. A method of charging a battery array comprising:
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providing an alternating current supply voltage; in parallel alternating current to direct current charging circuits, down-converting the alternating current supply voltage to individual direct current charging voltages; applying the direct current charging voltages to respective individual battery modules to charge one or more cells in each battery module. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A battery array comprising:
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alternating current supply voltage terminals; direct current output voltage terminals; at least one array of battery modules extending between the output voltage terminals; and a plurality of alternating current to direct current charging circuits, each down-converting an alternating current supply voltage at the alternating current supply voltage terminals to an individual direct current charging voltage applied to an individual module of the array. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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Specification