SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A POWER SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE POWER COMPONENTS

• US 20110089760A1
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motiv Power Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motiv Power Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Diamond, Steven, Parikh, Vishal, Chang, Sam, Castelaz, Jim Michael, Tsai, Benson, Riley, Jessica
• Granted Patent: US 8,698,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/25
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 1/66 Regulating electric power
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/102 being switching converters H02J1/108, H02J1/12 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/106 for load balancing, symmetrisation, or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 4/00 Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks not specified as ac or dc
• 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: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system for managing a power system with a plurality of power components that includes power source components and power consumption components includes a central power bus, a plurality of adaptable connectors that each electrically couple to a power component and to the central power bus, and a control processor that receives the state of each power component from the respective adaptable connector and is configured to balance the voltage and current output from each power source component to provide a desired power to a power consumption component based on the received states.

Claims

1. A system for managing a plurality of power components, comprising:

a central power bus;

a plurality of adaptable connectors that each electrically couple to a power component and to the central power bus, each adaptable connector including;

a power bus connector that electrically interfaces with the central power bus;

a power component connector that interfaces with the power component;

a processor that determines the state of the power component and communicates the state of the power component to the central power bus; and

a power controller that regulates voltage and current flow between the central power bus and the power component; and

a control processor that receives the state of each power component from the respective adaptable connector and that balances the voltage and current from a power component that provides power to provide a desired power to a power component that receives power based on the received states of the power components.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control processor is configured to communicate instructions to each of the adaptable connectors to balance the voltage and current from a power component that provides power to provide desired power to a power component that receives power.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the power bus connector is substantially integrated into the power controller and the processor.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the power components interchangeably receive power and provide power.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the power components include a motor and a battery.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the bus connector of an adaptable connector is substantially identical to the bus connector of another adaptable connector.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the power component includes a plurality of modules and wherein the power component connector electrically couples to each module of the power component.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the power component connector includes a plurality of component connectors that each connect to a module of the power component.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the power component connector arranges the power component modules in an electrically series connection.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sensor that is coupled to the processor and detects the state of the power component.

11. system of claim 10, wherein the sensor includes a sensor selected from the group consisting of:

voltage sensor, temperature sensor, and current sensor.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the power controller includes a variable voltage direct current link.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the control processor is coupled to the central power bus and communicates with each of the adaptable connectors through the central power bus to receive the state of each of the power components and to communicate the desired voltage and current output from each power source component.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the control processor is distributed among a plurality of the processors of the adaptable connectors and wherein the plurality of processors of the adaptable connectors cooperate to balance the voltage and current between the power component that provides power and the power component that receives power based on the received states of the power components.

15. A method for managing a power system with a central power bus and a plurality of power components, comprising:

electrically interfacing a power component to the central power bus through an adaptable connector that communicates with both the central power bus and the power component and monitors the state of the power component;

balancing the voltage and current output from a power component that provides power to provide a desired power to a power component that receives power;

receiving the state of each power component from the respective adaptable connector; and

adjusting the balance of voltage and current flow to and from each power component based on the received states of each power component from the plurality of adaptable connectors.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the power components interchangeably receive power and provide power, and wherein the steps of adjusting the balance of voltage and current flow includes adjusting the balance of voltage and current flow when a power component switches from receiving power to providing power and when a power component switches from providing power to receiving power.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of balancing includes decreasing at least one of the voltage and current outputs from a power component that provides power based on the reported state of the power component and increasing at least one of the voltage and current output from another power component that provides power to provide the desired power to the power component that receives power.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the power component includes a healthy state and an unhealthy state, and wherein the step of decreasing at least one of the voltage and current outputs from a power component that provides power based on the reported state includes decreasing at least one of the voltage and current outputs from the power component when the reported state is unhealthy.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the power component includes a substantially continuum range of health states that includes the healthy state and the unhealthy state and further includes a slightly unhealthy state.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of decreasing at least one of the voltage and current outputs from a power component that provides power based on the reported state includes decreasing at least one of the voltage and current outputs to a first degree when the power component is reported as unhealthy and decreasing at least one of the voltage and current outputs to a second degree when the power component is reported as slightly unhealthy, wherein the first degree is a larger decrease than the second degree.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising reporting that a power component is in the unhealthy state when the internal temperature of the power component is higher than a threshold temperature.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the power component includes a calibration state, and wherein the step of decreasing at least one of the voltage and current output from a power component that provides power based on the reported state includes decreasing at least one of the voltage and current output when the reported state is the calibration state.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the power component that provides power is a power component that stores charge, and wherein the step of decreasing at least one of the voltage and current output when the reported state is in the calibration state includes decreasing the power output of the power source component to substantially zero and recalibrating the state of charge measurement for the power source component.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of decreasing at least one of the voltage and current output when the reported state is in the calibration state includes decreasing and increasing the power output of the power source component in a predetermined pattern to recalibrate the state determination of the power source component.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of receiving the state of each power component includes receiving the state of each power component at a central controller that adjusts the voltage and current flow to and from each power component based on the states received.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of receiving the state of each power component includes receiving the state of each power component at each adaptable connector, and wherein the adaptable connectors collaborate to adjust the voltage and current flow to and from each power component based on the states received.