COMMON MODE VOLTAGE ENUMERATION IN A BATTERY PACK

• US 20110003183A1
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Published: 01/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tesla Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tesla Motors Incorporated (Tesla Inc.)
• Inventors: Baglino, Andrew, Cole, Philip David
• Granted Patent: US 8,765,276 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/50
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4207 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/204 Racks, modules or packs for multiple batteries or multiple cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/425 Multimode batteries, batteries with "reserve cells"
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

An apparatus and method for these embodiments of the present invention, useful in manufacturing for example, includes a plurality of battery modules serially intercoupled together, each module including a housing with an anode connector and a cathode connector, each housing including a memory for storing a module identifier and wherein an anode connector of a first module is coupled to a cathode connector of a second module; and a processing system, coupled to each the module, for determining a plurality of positional attributes of each the module, one positional attribute associated with each the module of the plurality of modules, the processing system writing an ID into the memory of each particular module responsive to the associated positional attribute for the particular module.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of battery modules serially intercoupled together, each module including a housing with an anode connector and a cathode connector, each housing including a memory for storing a module identifier (ID) and wherein an anode connector of a first module is coupled to a cathode connector of a second module; and

a processing system, coupled to each said module, for determining a plurality of positional attributes of each said module, one positional attribute associated with each said module of said plurality of modules, said processing system writing said ID into said memory of each particular module wherein each said written ID is responsive to and derived from said associated positional attribute determined for said particular module.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said positional attribute includes a common mode voltage associated with each said module.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each said ID is unique among said IDs of said plurality of battery modules.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said positional attribute includes a geographic location reference of said particular module in said serial intercoupling.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said geographic location reference is determined based upon an ordering of said associated common mode voltages.

6. A method, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a plurality of positional attributes across a plurality of serially intercoupled battery modules, each said module including a memory for storing a module identifier (ID);

(b) determining said ID for each of said plurality of serially intercoupled battery modules, each particular said ID derived from a particular one of said plurality of positional attributes associated with a particular one of said plurality of battery modules; and

(c) writing said ID into said memory of each particular module.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said positional attribute includes a common mode voltage associated with each said module.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein each said ID is unique among said IDs of said plurality of battery modules.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said positional attribute includes a geographic location reference of said particular module in said serial intercoupling.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said geographic location reference is determined based upon an ordering of said associated common mode voltages.

11-20. -20. (canceled)