Monitoring battery packs
First Claim
1. A system for determining the health of a rechageable battery pack, said battery pack being composed of plurality of individual battery modules, said system comprising:
- a discharge load for discharging one of said battery modules;
a module charger for charging one of said battery modules;
a controller for controlling a network of switches;
a battery module sensor for measuring a characteristic of a battery module; and
a network of switches controlled by the controller, said network capable of operatively coupling each module to;
the discharge load;
the module charger; and
the module sensor, an expert system for controlling the controller, said expert system receiving an output of the module sensor, wherein said controller discharges and recharges each individual battery module by connecting said battery module to either the discharge load or the module charger using said network of switches; and
the expert system determines the useful capacity of each module based on said characteristic of each module.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a device for managing battery packs by measuring and monitoring the operating capacity of individual battery modules in a battery pack. A programmable logic controller directs the selective closing of relays to allow individual battery modules to be load-tested using a variable discharge load unit, without compromising useful battery pack capacity. A battery module whose useful capacity falls below a predefined threshold may be connected to a battery charger for replenishment and then electrically realigned with the remaining modules in the pack for continued operation. Alternatively, an alarm may be triggered which alerts the user that the module is due for replacement. This sequence of events is performed on all cells in the pack at a predetermined interval.
101 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for determining the health of a rechageable battery pack, said battery pack being composed of plurality of individual battery modules, said system comprising:
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a discharge load for discharging one of said battery modules;
a module charger for charging one of said battery modules;
a controller for controlling a network of switches;
a battery module sensor for measuring a characteristic of a battery module; and
a network of switches controlled by the controller, said network capable of operatively coupling each module to;
the discharge load;
the module charger; and
the module sensor, an expert system for controlling the controller, said expert system receiving an output of the module sensor, wherein said controller discharges and recharges each individual battery module by connecting said battery module to either the discharge load or the module charger using said network of switches; and
the expert system determines the useful capacity of each module based on said characteristic of each module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19, 20)
storage memory for storing instructions to be executed by the system wherein said instructions include processes for different recharge and discharge sequences for different conditions of battery modules.
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10. A system as in claim 9 wherein said system uses different discharge and recharge sequences for battery modules based on the type of said battery modules.
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19. A system as in claim 1 wherein said expert system selects an individual module for recharge based on the useful capacity of said module.
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20. A system as in claim 1 wherein said expert system records each instance of a recharge cycle for each module and selects an individual module for recharge based on the number of recharge cycles a module has undergone.
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11. A rechargeable battery pack having a system for determining a useful capacity of said pack, said pack comprising:
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a discharge load for discharging one of said battery modules;
a module charger for charging one of said battery modules;
a controller for controlling a network of switches;
a battery module sensor for measuring a characteristic of a battery module; and
a network of switches controlled by the controller, said network capable of operatively coupling each module to;
the discharge load;
the module charger; and
the module sensor, an expert system for controlling the controller, said expert system receiving an output of the module sensor, wherein said controller discharges and recharges each individual battery module by connecting said battery module to either the discharge load or the module charger using said network of switches; and
the expert system determines the useful capacity of each module based on said characteristic of each module. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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12. A method for determining the health of a battery pack composed of a plurality of battery modules, said method comprising:
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a) selecting a battery module to be tested;
b) electrically isolating the selected module to be tested using a network of switches;
c) coupling the selected battery module to;
a discharge load;
at least one module sensor;
d) performing at least one test which determines a useful capacity of the selected battery module based on predetermined criteria;
e) discharging the selected battery module;
f) coupling the selected battery module to a module charger; and
g) recharging the selected battery module. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 18)
a measured condition of the selected battery module;
a type of the selected battery module; and
a value stored in a memory of the expert system, said value being related to the health of the selected battery module.
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18. A method as in claim 12 wherein step g) includes recharging the selected battery module with a charge algorithm best suited to a state of the selected module based on a result obtained in step d).
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15. An application specific integrated circuit for use with a battery management system for a battery pack composed of multiple battery modules the integrated circuit having the components:
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a controller for controlling a network of switches;
a battery module sensor for measuring a characteristic of a battery module in the battery pack; and
a network of switches controlled by the controller, said network capable of operatively coupling each module to;
a discharge load;
a module charger; and
a module sensor, an expert system for controlling the controller, said expert system receiving an output of the module sensor, wherein said controller discharges and recharges each individual battery module by connecting said battery module to either the discharge load or the module charger using said network of switches; and
the expert system determines the useful capacity of each module based on said characteristic of each module.
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Specification