System and methods for managing a degraded state of a capacitor system
First Claim
1. An energy storage system, comprising:
- a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors;
a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and
a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state,wherein the controller is configured to select the value of the second target voltage based upon a type of the first condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for managing a capacitor system. In one aspect, an energy storage system includes a capacitor system, a charging circuit, and a controller. The capacitor system includes one or more capacitors. The charging circuit is configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage. The controller is configured to detect a first condition and is programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage. The controller is programmed to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state, wherein the controller is configured to select the value of the second target voltage based upon a type of the first condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of operating a capacitor-based energy storage system, comprising:
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providing a controller and a capacitor system comprising at least one capacitor; charging the at least one capacitor in the capacitor system with a charging circuit to a first target voltage; detecting a condition of the capacitor system with the controller; determining whether to put the capacitor system in a degraded state based on the condition; reducing the charge of the at least one capacitor to a second target voltage in response to the condition; providing a notification that the at least one capacitor is charged to the second target voltage, and balancing a plurality of capacitor output voltages with respect to each other, each capacitor output voltage extending across each of the plurality of capacitors. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a temperature condition of the capacitor system, wherein the controller is programmed to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that varies as a function of temperature when the detected temperature condition is between an upper temperature condition and a lower temperature condition, wherein the capacitor system comprises a plurality of capacitors, wherein the first target voltage is defined as a combined operating voltage across the plurality of capacitors. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state, wherein the capacitor system comprises at least one sensor configured to detect the first condition, the sensor configured to communicate the first condition to the controller. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state, wherein the capacitor system comprises a capacitor bank comprising a plurality of capacitors; and a balancing circuit configured to balance a plurality of capacitor output voltages with respect to each other, each capacitor output voltage extending across each of the plurality of capacitors. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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36. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state, wherein the second target voltage is greater than or equal to a voltage sufficient to activate a starter for an internal combustion engine. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state, wherein the notification comprises a detectable reduced performance in an additional system connected to the energy storage system. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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41. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state, wherein the notification comprises an indicator device configured to receive a discrete output from the controller. - View Dependent Claims (42)
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43. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a first condition and programmed, in response to the first condition, to instruct the charging circuit to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that is less than the first target voltage, and to provide a notification that the capacitor system is operating in a degraded state, wherein the controller is configured to detect a temperature of the one or more capacitors.
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44. A method of operating a capacitor-based energy storage system, comprising:
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providing a controller and a capacitor system comprising at least one capacitor; charging the at least one capacitor in the capacitor system with a charging circuit to a first target voltage; detecting a condition of the capacitor system with the controller; determining whether to put the capacitor system in a degraded state based on the condition; reducing the charge of the at least one capacitor to a second target voltage in response to the condition; and providing a notification that the at least one capacitor is charged to the second target voltage, wherein reducing comprises closing a switch within a balancing circuit. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46)
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47. A method of operating a capacitor-based energy storage system, comprising:
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providing a controller and a capacitor system comprising at least one capacitor; charging the at least one capacitor in the capacitor system with a charging circuit to a first target voltage; detecting a condition of the capacitor system with the controller; determining whether to put the capacitor system in a degraded state based on the condition; reducing the charge of the at least one capacitor to a second target voltage in response to the condition; and providing a notification that the at least one capacitor is charged to the second target voltage, wherein detecting comprises detecting a change in voltage across at least one capacitor in the capacitor system, wherein detecting comprises detecting a change in voltage due to at least one of a broken and shorted wire within the capacitor system.
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48. An energy storage system, comprising:
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a capacitor system comprising one or more capacitors; a charging circuit configured to charge the capacitor system to a first target voltage; and a controller configured to detect a temperature condition of the capacitor system, wherein the controller is programmed to charge the capacitor system to a second target voltage that varies as a function of temperature when the detected temperature condition is between an upper temperature condition and a lower temperature condition, wherein the controller is configured to charge the capacitor system to a third target voltage that is approximately constant when the detected condition is at least one of greater than or equal to the lower temperature condition or less than or equal to the upper temperature condition. - View Dependent Claims (49)
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Specification