ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20180056808A1
• Filed: 05/31/2017
• Published: 03/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ten-D Energies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ten-D Energies, Inc.
• Inventors: Gibson, Jerry, Ma, Mike
• Application Number:
  US15/610,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20180056808A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/22 Balancing the charge of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0019 using switched or multiplexed charge circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/1423 with multiple batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices
• 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

Abstract

A battery management system including sheets, a buffer circuit, and a master management system. The sheets each include energy storage devices and an active balancing circuit configured to use power received from a portion of the devices to charge a lowest voltage one of the devices. The master management system uses information received from the active balancing circuit of each of the sheets to identify a second portion of the sheets and instructs the buffer circuit to receive first power from a first portion of the sheets, and send at least a portion of the first power to the second portion of the sheets. The battery management system may be included in an electric vehicle. Each of the sheets may include a communication hardware module that sends a parameter to the master management system, which the master management system may send in a data package to an external computing system.

Claims

1. A battery management system comprising:

a plurality of sheets each comprising a plurality of energy storage devices and an active balancing circuit, the active balancing circuit being configured to identify one of the plurality of energy storage devices having a lowest voltage as a lowest voltage device, and use power received from a portion of the plurality of energy storage devices to charge the lowest voltage device; and

a buffer circuit connected to the plurality of sheets and operable to transfer power; and

a master management system connected to the buffer circuit and the active balancing circuit of each of the plurality of sheets, the master management system receiving information from the active balancing circuit of each of the plurality of sheets and using the information to identify a second portion of the plurality of sheets, the master management system being configured to instruct the buffer circuit to receive first power from a first portion of the plurality of sheets, and send at least a portion of the first power as second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets.

2. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of energy storage devices comprises a plurality of cells connected together in parallel or series.

3. The battery management system of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of cells comprises at least one battery or at least one capacitor.

4. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the buffer circuit comprises a capacitor pack with a plurality of capacitors connected together in series, the capacitor pack being configured to store the first power in the plurality of capacitors.

5. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the buffer circuit comprises at least one bi-directional direct current to direct current (“

DC-DC”

) converter.

6. The battery management system of claim 5, wherein the buffer circuit comprises a storage device configured to store the first power,

the master management system is connected to the at least one bi-directional DC-DC converter and configured to instruct the at least one bi-directional DC-DC converter to receive the first power from the first portion of the plurality of sheets, send the first power to the storage device for storage, receive the second power from the storage device, and send the second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets.

7. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the buffer circuit comprises:

a storage device configured to store the first power; and

multiple single-direction direct current to direct current (“

DC-DC”

) converters, a first portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters being configured to receive the second power from the storage device, and send the second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets, a second portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters being configured to receive the first power from the first portion of the plurality of sheets and send the first power to the storage device for storage, the second portion being different from the first portion.

8. The battery management system of claim 7, wherein the master management system is connected to the first portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters, the master management system being configured instruct the first portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters to send the second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets.

9. The battery management system of claim 8, wherein the master management system is connected to the second portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters and configured instruct the second portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters to receive the first power from the first portion of the plurality of sheets.

10. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the active balancing circuit comprises a DC-DC converter, a multiplexer, a microcontroller and instructions executable by the microcontroller, the instructions, when executed by the microcontroller, instructing the microcontroller to perform a method comprising:

identifying the lowest voltage device;

determining an average voltage of the plurality of energy storage devices;

determining whether the lowest voltage is within a predetermined range of the average voltage; and

when the microcontroller determines the lowest voltage is not within the predetermined range of the average voltage, instructing the DC-DC converter and the multiplexer to use the power received from the portion of the plurality of energy storage devices to charge the lowest voltage device.

11. A battery management system configured to communicate with an external computing system, the battery management system comprising:

a sheet comprising a plurality of energy storage devices, at least one communication hardware module, and a processor, the plurality of energy storage devices being connected together in series, the processor being connected to the at least one communication hardware module and each of the plurality of energy storage devices, the processor being configured to determine at least one parameter for the plurality of energy storage devices, and send the at least one parameter to the at least one communication hardware module; and

a master management system operable to communicate with both the at least one communication hardware module and the external computing system, the master management system being configured to receive the at least one parameter from the at least one communication hardware module and send a data package comprising the at least one parameter to the external computing system.

12. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein the master management system is configured to receive a software update from the external computing system, and send the software update to the at least one communication hardware module, the processor being configured to receive the software update from the at least one communication hardware module.

13. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of energy storage devices comprises a plurality of cells connected together in parallel.

14. The battery management system of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of cells comprises at least one battery or at least one capacitor.

15. The battery management system of claim 11, further comprising:

a plurality of sheets comprising the sheet; and

a buffer circuit connected to the sheet and operable to store power, the master management system being configured to identify a second portion of the plurality of sheets, the master management system being configured to instruct the buffer circuit to receive first power from a first portion of the plurality of sheets, store the first power, and instruct the buffer circuit to send at least a portion of the stored power as second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets.

16. The battery management system of claim 15, wherein the buffer circuit comprises a capacitor pack with a plurality of capacitors connected together in series, the capacitor pack being configured to store the first power in the plurality of capacitors.

17. The battery management system of claim 15, wherein the buffer circuit comprises at least one bi-directional direct current to direct current (“

DC-DC”

) converter,

the master management system is connected to the at least one bi-directional DC-DC converter, and

the master management system is configured instruct the at least one bi-directional DC-DC converter to either send the second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets or receive the first power from the first portion of the plurality of sheets.

18. The battery management system of claim 15, wherein the buffer circuit comprises multiple single-direction direct current to direct current (“

DC-DC”

) converters,

the master management system is connected to the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters,

the master management system is configured instruct a first portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters to send the second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets,

the master management system is configured instruct a second portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters to receive the first power from the first portion of the plurality of sheets, and

the second portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters is different from the first portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters.

19. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein the sheet comprises a DC-DC converter and a multiplexer, and

the processor is configured to instruct the DC-DC converter and the multiplexer to use power received from a portion of the plurality of energy storage devices to charge one of the plurality of energy storage devices having a lowest voltage.

20. An electric vehicle comprising:

a battery management system comprising a master management system and a battery pack with a plurality of sheets and a buffer circuit, the plurality of sheets each comprising an energy storage device, the buffer circuit being connected to the plurality of sheets, the master management system receiving information from the plurality of sheets and using the information to identify a second portion of the plurality of sheets, the master management system being configured to instruct the buffer circuit to receive first power from a first portion of the plurality of sheets, and send at least a portion of the first power as second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets; and

an electric motor connected to the battery pack and configured to receive third power from the battery pack.

21. The electric vehicle of claim 20, wherein the energy storage devices comprises a plurality of cells connected together in parallel or series, and

each of the plurality of cells comprises at least one battery or at least one capacitor.

22. The electric vehicle of claim 20, wherein the buffer circuit comprises a capacitor pack with a plurality of capacitors connected together in series, the capacitor pack being configured to store the first power in the plurality of capacitors.

23. The electric vehicle of claim 20, wherein the buffer circuit comprises at least one bi-directional direct current to direct current (“

DC-DC”

) converter,

the master management system is connected to the at least one bi-directional DC-DC converter, and

the master management system is configured instruct the at least one bi-directional DC-DC converter to either send the second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets or receive the first power from the first portion of the plurality of sheets.

24. The electric vehicle of claim 20, wherein the buffer circuit comprises multiple single-direction direct current to direct current (“

DC-DC”

) converters,

the master management system is connected to the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters,

the master management system is configured instruct a first portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters to send the second power to the second portion of the plurality of sheets,

the master management system is configured instruct a second portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters to receive the first power from the first portion of the plurality of sheets, and

the second portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters is different from the first portion of the multiple single-direction DC-DC converters.