BATTERY CHARGE AND DISCHARGE CONTROLLER
First Claim
1. A battery pack, comprising:
- a pack control module, configured to control a charging cycle at least by supplying a charging current to a plurality of cells until a pack charging threshold condition is reached, and to control a discharging cycle at least by supplying a discharging current from the plurality of cells until a pack discharging threshold condition is reached; and
a plurality of cell controller modules, each communicatively coupled at least with a respective one of the plurality of cells, and configured to;
when a cell voltage of the respective cell reaches a cell charging threshold condition during the charging cycle;
shunt the charging current away from the one of the plurality of cells;
use the shunted charging current to generate first supplemental current; and
add at least some of the first supplemental current to the charging current to charge at least another of the plurality of cells; and
when the cell voltage of the respective cell reaches a cell discharging threshold condition during the discharging cycle;
draw charging current away from the plurality of cells;
use the drawn charging current to generate second supplemental current; and
charge the respective cell using at least some of the second supplemental current.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, systems, and devices are described for described for providing control circuitry for use with battery packs. Embodiments optimize charging and discharging cycles to mitigate overcharging, over-discharging, and/or overheating individual cells in a battery pack. For example, embodiments allow for full discharging of battery packs (i.e., bringing the battery pack and its individual cells closer to their minimum voltages without going below) and full charging of battery packs (i.e., charging each cell of the battery pack closer to their maximum voltages without exceeding). Further, some embodiments include a substantially lossless, bi-directional DC-to-DC converter for facilitating ultra-fast charging of battery packs (e.g., at greater than 10C charge rates) without overheating or overcharging the individual cells of the battery packs.
33 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A battery pack, comprising:
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a pack control module, configured to control a charging cycle at least by supplying a charging current to a plurality of cells until a pack charging threshold condition is reached, and to control a discharging cycle at least by supplying a discharging current from the plurality of cells until a pack discharging threshold condition is reached; and a plurality of cell controller modules, each communicatively coupled at least with a respective one of the plurality of cells, and configured to; when a cell voltage of the respective cell reaches a cell charging threshold condition during the charging cycle;
shunt the charging current away from the one of the plurality of cells;
use the shunted charging current to generate first supplemental current; and
add at least some of the first supplemental current to the charging current to charge at least another of the plurality of cells; andwhen the cell voltage of the respective cell reaches a cell discharging threshold condition during the discharging cycle;
draw charging current away from the plurality of cells;
use the drawn charging current to generate second supplemental current; and
charge the respective cell using at least some of the second supplemental current. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A battery pack, comprising:
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means for delivering charging current to a plurality of cells in such a way as to charge the plurality of cells; means for controlling a charging cycle of the battery pack by, when a cell voltage of one of the plurality of cells reaches a cell charging threshold condition; shunting the charging current away from the one of the plurality of cells; using the shunted charging current to generate first supplemental current; and adding at least some of the first supplemental current to the charging current to charge at least another of the plurality of cells; means for controlling a discharging cycle of the battery pack by, when the cell voltage of the one of the plurality of cells reaches a cell discharging threshold condition; drawing charging current away from the plurality of cells; using the drawn charging current to generate second supplemental current; and using at least some of the second supplemental current to charge the one of the plurality of cells; means for terminating the charging cycle when a pack charging threshold condition is reached; and means for terminating the discharging cycle when a pack discharging threshold condition is reached.
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20. A method for controlling a battery pack, the method comprising:
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monitoring a pack voltage during a charging cycle of the battery pack to determine whether a pack charging threshold condition is reached; monitoring a cell voltage for one of a plurality of cells of the battery pack to determine whether a cell charging threshold condition is reached; when the pack charging threshold condition is not reached and the cell charging threshold condition is not reached for the one of the plurality of cells, supplying a charging current to the one of the plurality of cells; when the pack charging threshold condition is not reached and the cell charging threshold condition is reached for the one of the plurality of cells;
shunting the charging current away from the one of the plurality of cells;
using the shunted charging current to generate first supplemental current; and
adding at least some of the first supplemental current to the charging current to charge at least another of the plurality of cells; andwhen the pack charging threshold condition is reached, terminating the charging cycle. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification