WIRELESS MONITORING OF BATTERY FOR LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

• US 20120038473A1
• Filed: 08/10/2010
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Fecher, Dana B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,692,663 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/455
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/60 Navigation input
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/10 for monitoring or controlling batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/24 for controlling the temperature of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/371 with remote indication, e.g. on external chargers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00016 using a wired telecommunication network or a data transmission bus
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00026 involving a local wireless network, e.g. Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00028 involving the use of Internet protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 Detection of state of health [SOH]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/12 Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

The disclosed invention provides a system and apparatus for monitoring battery status and usage to facilitate battery protection, battery repurposing and battery maintenance. Wireless interrogation of a battery'"'"'s location and key attributes provides efficiencies to manage the total lifecycle of an electric vehicle battery, whether installed in a vehicle or in an environment external to the vehicle environment. A wireless battery tether, combined with a wireless battery reader, a wireless battery gateway and a centralized battery monitoring server allows management of the high-voltage battery through its lifecycle.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery, the system comprising:

a battery tether attached to the electric vehicle battery for collecting data regarding one or more parameters associated with the battery;

a battery reader linked to the battery tether for receiving the collected data from the battery tether;

a gateway for communicating with the battery reader configured to access a wide area network; and

a battery monitoring server, communicably linked to the battery reader via the gateway and the wide area network, and configured to receive the collected data from the battery reader, the battery monitoring server hosting a monitoring application configured to process the received collected data and to perform battery monitoring actions based on the received data.

2. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters associated with the battery include a location of the battery.

3. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 2, wherein the battery tether includes a GPS module for receiving GPS signals and determining a position of the electric vehicle battery.

4. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters associated with the battery include one or more of a present battery charge rate, a present battery discharge rate, a present battery voltage, a present battery current, and a present battery temperature.

5. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring application hosted on the battery monitoring server is further configured to compare received location information with predetermined locational limits to determine whether the battery has been removed from an authorized location.

6. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 5, wherein the monitoring application hosted on the battery monitoring server is further configured to alert predetermined personnel if it is determined that the battery has been removed from the authorized location.

7. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring application hosted on the battery monitoring server is further configured to detect improper handling of the battery by comparing received collected battery data with one or more predetermined parameter thresholds to determine whether the battery is being exposed to a harmful condition.

8. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 7, wherein the monitoring application hosted on the battery monitoring server is further configured to alert predetermined personnel if it is determined that the battery is being exposed to a harmful condition.

9. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring application hosted on the battery monitoring server is further configured to monitor battery performance and to detect a degradation in battery performance.

10. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 9, wherein the monitoring application hosted on the battery monitoring server is further configured to compare the detected degradation in battery performance to a threshold value and to alert predetermined personnel if the detected degradation in performance surpasses the threshold.

11. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery reader is linked to the battery tether via a wireless channel.

12. The system for monitoring an electric vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery reader is linked to the gateway via a wireless channel.

13. A method for monitoring battery life associated with a battery in an electric vehicle, the method comprising:

collecting battery attribute information at the battery;

transmitting the collected battery attribute information wirelessly to a network gateway;

conveying the collected battery attribute information from the network gateway to a battery monitoring server via a network associated with the network gateway; and

processing the collected battery attribute information via a monitoring application hosted on the battery monitoring server to determine based on the collected battery attribute information whether the battery will be repurposed from a present use to an alternative use.

14. The method for monitoring battery life according to claim 13, wherein collecting battery attribute information at the battery comprises collecting battery information via a battery tether attached to the battery.

15. The method for monitoring battery life according to claim 13, wherein processing the collected battery attribute information to determine whether the battery will be repurposed from a present use to an alternative use comprises determining a present battery capacity and comparing the present battery capacity to an original battery capacity to determine whether the battery will be repurposed.

16. The method for monitoring battery life according to claim 15, wherein comparing the present battery capacity to an original battery capacity to determine whether the battery will be repurposed comprises determining whether the present battery capacity differs from the original battery capacity by greater than a predetermined extent.

17. The method for monitoring battery life according to claim 13, wherein processing the collected battery attribute information to determine whether the battery will be repurposed from a present use to an alternative use comprises determining that the battery will be discarded.

18. The method for monitoring battery life according to claim 13, wherein it is determined that the battery will be repurposed, the method further comprising transmitting a notification to predetermined personnel indicating that the battery will be repurposed.

19. A system for monitoring a battery, the system comprising:

a battery monitor attached to the battery for collecting data regarding one or more parameters associated with the battery;

a battery reader wirelessly linked to the battery monitor for receiving the collected data from the battery monitor; and

a battery monitoring application configured to receive the collected data from the battery reader and to analyze a condition of the battery based on the received data.

20. The system for monitoring a battery according to claim 19, wherein the battery monitoring application is hosted on a computing device physically remote and separate from the battery monitor.