SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UTILIZING AN ARRAY OF POWER STORAGE DEVICES, SUCH AS BATTERIES

• US 20150207355A1
• Filed: 01/21/2015
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gogoro Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gogoro Inc.
• Inventors: Taylor, Matthew Whiting, Luke, Hok-Sum Horace
• Granted Patent: US 9,837,842 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/392 Determining battery ageing or deterioration, e.g. state of health
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0024 Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0025 Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices

Abstract

A system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices utilizes a smart manager that categorizes electrical energy storage devices in the array based on electrical energy storage device age and/or internal resistance level and causes those electrical energy storage devices with similar ages and/or resistance levels to be concurrently depleted. This is followed by concurrently depleting the electrical energy storage devices in a different category. The system also disconnects faulty electrical energy storage devices in the array and helps alleviate the need to carefully consider and reconfigure the location of individual electrical energy storage devices in the array. The system facilitates forecasting actual capacity and thus helps to guarantee available capacity and to actively maintain capacity via maintenance crews that need simply remove and replace cells as advised by the smart manager. The system 100 facilitates permitting a quality of service (QoS) to be provided to mission critical entities (banks, hospitals, etc.).

Claims

1. A system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices, comprising:

at least one controller; and

at least one communications module coupled to the at least one controller, wherein the at least one controller is configured to;

cause the at least one communications module to receive information regarding status of each of a plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array of electrical energy storage devices;

make a determination regarding from which of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices to allow power to be drawn and when to allow power to be drawn from particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices, based on the received information regarding status of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices; and

cause power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices according to the determination.

2. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 1 wherein the information regarding status includes information regarding one or more of:

indications whether one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices is faulty;

amount of remaining capacity of original electrical energy storage device capacity of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

an age of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

remaining life expectancy of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

present electrical resistance of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

current load contribution of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

usage history of one or more of the electrical energy storage devices;

appearance of a short on a circuit to which one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices is connected;

status of a circuit to which one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices is connected;

temperature of a circuit to which one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices is connected;

whether one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices are presently connected in parallel or series with one or more other electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

a number of charge cycles that has occurred for each of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

a number of expected remaining charge cycles available for each of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

present charge level of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

present charge level of one or more groups of electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

present charge capacity of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

present charge level of one or more groups of electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

present operating voltage of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

present operating voltage of one or more groups of electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

production tolerances of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

temperature of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

temperature distribution across two or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

temperature distribution across one or more groups of electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

one or more ageing characteristics of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

strength of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

indications of a likelihood of failure of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

one or more types of electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

a manufacturing batch of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

charging time for one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

reliability of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

past performance of one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

whether one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices matches characteristics of one or more other electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

whether one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices matches age characteristics of one or more other electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

whether one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices matches remaining life expectancy characteristics of one or more other electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

whether one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices matches electrical resistance characteristics of one or more other electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices; and

whether one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices has been disconnected from a circuit to which others of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices are connected.

3. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 1 wherein the at least one controller is configured to make the determination regarding from which of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices to allow power to drawn by at least being configured to:

determine that an electrical energy storage device of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices is faulty based on the received information regarding status of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

in response to the determination that the electrical energy storage device is faulty, determine to prevent power from being drawn from the electrical energy storage device determined to be faulty.

4. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 3 wherein the at least one controller is further configured to:

prevent power to be drawn from the electrical energy storage device determined to be faulty by being configured to disconnect the electrical energy storage device determined to be faulty from an electrical circuit to which others of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices are connected in the array.

5. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 3 wherein the at least one controller is further configured to:

send a signal to initiate a replacement to be made, in the array of electrical energy storage devices, of the electrical energy storage device determined to be faulty.

6. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 1 wherein the at least one controller is configured to make the determination regarding from which of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices to allow power to drawn and when to allow power to be drawn from particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices by at least being configured to:

categorize, based on the received information regarding status, electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices into categories based on matching characteristics regarding one or more of;

electrical energy storage device age, present electrical resistance, amount of remaining capacity of original electrical energy storage device capacity, and life expectancy, of various electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

for each particular category of the categories into which the electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices were categorized, enable concurrent depletion of charge of each electrical energy storage device in the particular category with each other electrical energy storage device in the particular category; and

determine a depletion plan which indicates an order in which a depletion of charge will occur sequentially for each particular category of electrical energy storage device with respect to each other particular category.

7. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 6 wherein the at least one controller is configured to categorize, based on the received information regarding status, electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices into the categories by at least being configured to:

categorize electrical energy storage devices that have similar characteristics regarding one or more of;

electrical energy storage device age, present electrical resistance, amount of remaining capacity of original electrical energy storage device capacity, and life expectancy into a same particular category.

8. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 7 wherein the at least one controller is configured to make the determination regarding from which of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices to allow power to drawn and when to allow power to be drawn from particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices by at least being further configured to:

determine a depletion plan which indicates a depletion sequence in which a depletion of charge will occur sequentially for each particular category of electrical energy storage device with respect to each other particular category.

9. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 8 wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices according to the determination regarding from which of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices to allow power to be drawn and when to allow power to be drawn from particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices by at least being configured to:

cause power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices according to the determined depletion plan.

10. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 9 wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices according to the determined depletion plan by at least being configured to:

for each particular category of the categories, cause each electrical energy storage device in the particular category to be electrically connected in parallel with respect to each other electrical energy storage device in the particular category to allow power to be drawn concurrently from each electrical energy storage device in the particular category when connected to an electrical circuit of the array.

11. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 10 wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices according to the determined depletion plan by at least being further configured to:

cause each electrical energy storage device in a first particular category in the sequence to be electrically connected to an electrical circuit of the array to allow power to be drawn from each electrical energy storage device in the first particular category;

after the connection of each electrical energy storage device in the first particular category, cause each electrical energy storage device in the first particular category to be electrically disconnected from the electrical circuit of the array to prevent further power from being able to be drawn from each electrical energy storage device in the first particular category based on detection of a minimum present charge level being reached associated with the first particular category of electrical energy storage devices; and

after the disconnection of each electrical energy storage device in the first particular category, cause each electrical energy storage device in a subsequent particular category in the sequence to be electrically connected to the electrical circuit of the array to allow power to be drawn from each electrical energy storage device in the subsequent particular category;

after the connection of each electrical energy storage device in the subsequent particular category, cause each electrical energy storage device in the subsequent particular category to be electrically disconnected from the electrical circuit of the array to prevent further power from being able to be drawn from each electrical energy storage device in the subsequent particular category based on detection of a minimum present charge level being reached associated with the subsequent particular category of electrical energy storage devices; and

after the disconnection of each electrical energy storage device in the subsequent particular category, repeat, for each additional subsequent particular category in the sequence, in an order indicated by the sequence, the causation of electrical connection to the electrical circuit of the array and the causation of the electrical disconnection from the electrical circuit of the array in sequence according to the depletion plan.

12. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 9 wherein the at least one controller is further configured to forecast actual electrical energy capacity of the array based on the received information regarding status of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array and on the enablement of power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices according to the determined depletion plan.

13. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 9 further comprising the array of electrical energy storage devices operably connected to the at least one controller.

14. The system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices of claim 13 wherein the array of electrical energy storage devices is operably connected to the at least one controller via a communications link to the at least one communications module and via an electrical circuit of the array.

15. A method in a system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices, the method comprising:

receiving, by a communications module of the system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices, information regarding status of each of a plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array of electrical energy storage devices;

determining, by a controller of the system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices, regarding from which of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices to allow power to be drawn and when to allow power to be drawn from particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices, based on the received information regarding status of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices; and

causing, by the controller of the system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices, power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices according to the determination.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the determining includes:

determining that an electrical energy storage device of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices is faulty based on the received information regarding status of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices; and

in response to the determination that the electrical energy storage device is faulty, preventing power from being drawn from the electrical energy storage device determined to be faulty.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

sending, by the communications module of the system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices, a signal to initiate a replacement to be made, in the array of electrical energy storage devices, of the electrical energy storage device determined to be faulty.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the determining includes:

categorizing, based on the received information regarding status, electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices into categories based on matching characteristics regarding one or more of;

electrical energy storage device age, present electrical resistance, amount of remaining capacity of original electrical energy storage device capacity, and life expectancy, of various electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices;

for each particular category of the categories into which the electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices were categorized, enabling concurrent depletion of charge of each electrical energy storage device in the particular category with each other electrical energy storage device in the particular category; and

determining a depletion plan which indicates an order in which a depletion of charge will occur sequentially for each particular category of electrical energy storage device with respect to each other particular category.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the categorizing includes:

categorizing electrical energy storage devices that have similar characteristics regarding one or more of;

electrical energy storage device age, present electrical resistance, amount of remaining capacity of original electrical energy storage device capacity, and life expectancy into a same particular category.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions thereon that, when executed cause a processor of a system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices to:

receive information regarding status of each of a plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array of electrical energy storage devices; and

make a determination regarding when to allow power to be drawn from each particular electrical energy storage device of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices, based on the received information regarding status of each of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices; and

cause power to be drawn from the particular electrical energy storage devices of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices according to the determination.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20 wherein the making the determination regarding when to allow power to be drawn from each particular electrical energy storage device of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices includes:

categorizing electrical energy storage devices that have similar characteristics regarding one or more of;

electrical energy storage device age, present electrical resistance, amount of remaining capacity of original electrical energy storage device capacity, and life expectancy into a same particular category of electrical energy storage devices a plurality of categories of electrical energy storage devices; and

determining a depletion plan which indicates a depletion sequence in which a depletion of charge will occur sequentially for each particular category of the plurality of categories with respect to each other particular category of the plurality of categories.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20 wherein one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array are portable electrical energy storage devices.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20 wherein one or more of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array are used portable electrical energy storage devices previously used to power an electric vehicle and the array of electrical energy storage devices is a back-up power supply for a building.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20 wherein the plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array are individual cells and the array comprises a battery.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20 wherein each electrical energy storage device of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices of the array is a battery pack.

26. An electrical energy storage device comprising:

at least one controller; and

at least one communications module coupled to the at least one controller, wherein the at least one controller is configured to;

cause the at least one communications module to send information regarding status of the electrical energy storage device to a system for utilizing an array of electrical energy storage devices including the electrical energy storage device;

make a determination regarding whether the electrical energy storage device is faulty; and

cause the electrical energy storage device to be disconnected from an electrical circuit of the array of electrical energy storage devices if a determination is made by the at least one controller that the electrical energy storage device is faulty.

27. The electrical energy storage device of claim 26 wherein the at least one controller is further configured to:

receive information regarding present status of one or more other electrical energy storage devices in the array;

make a determination regarding whether to allow power to be drawn from the electrical energy storage device via the electrical circuit of the array based on the received information regarding present status of the one or more other electrical energy storage devices in the array and based on enablement of concurrent depletion of charge of each electrical energy storage device in a particular category with each other electrical energy storage device in the particular category; and

cause power to be drawn from the electrical energy storage device according to the determination by causing the electrical energy storage device to be connected to the electrical circuit of the array of electrical energy storage devices in response to a determination to allow power to be drawn from the electrical energy storage device.