Power distribution device

• US 9,722,443 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2011
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ishida, Takaharu, Watanabe, Tohru, Rissen, Kazumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thienvu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stables, David M
• Application Number:
  US14/239,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20140210267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,146 Days
• Field of Search: 307 31, 320107, 320126, 320134, 320136
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/443 in response to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4271 Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/322 the battery being on-board an electric or hybrid vehicle, e.g. vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G], power aggregation, use of the battery for network load balancing, coordinated or cooperative battery charging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 Detection of state of health [SOH]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0069 Charging or discharging for charge maintenance, battery initiation or rejuvenation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007194 of the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/34 Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other dc sources, e.g. providing buffering H02J7/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

There is a request for charging and discharging of a lithium-ion battery with as less degradation as possible. In an operation using only binary values as in conventional technology, however, in a charged state in which the battery is used, there is a high possibility that the battery is used toward accelerating the degradation thereof. In a power distribution device for distributing power between a plurality of batteries and a plurality of customers, when distributing the power of the batteries to the loads of the customers, by being based at least on the degradation information of the batteries, the state of charge, and the temperature data of the batteries, a battery discharging function is achieved that makes the degradation of the batteries minimum.

Claims

1. A power distribution device comprising:

a plurality of battery interfaces that are communicatively and electrically coupled to a plurality of storage batteries;

a plurality of load interfaces that are communicatively and electrically coupled to one or more load devices that consume electric power; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the plurality of battery interfaces and the plurality of load interfaces;

wherein the processor;

acquires deterioration degree information for each of the plurality of storage batteries, wherein the deterioration degree information includes a state of health (SOH) value,

computes a battery deterioration factor for each of the plurality of storage batteries based on the SOH value of each respective battery,

calculates an output energy of each of the plurality of storage batteries based on Lagrange'"'"'s method of undetermined multipliers and the battery deterioration factor,

selects one or more batteries from the plurality of storage batteries based on the calculated output energy of the one or more batteries; and

controls the plurality of load interfaces and the plurality of battery interfaces to electrically couple the one or more batteries to the one or more loads.

2. The power distribution device according to claim 1,

wherein the processor further:

acquires consumption amounts for the one or more load devices, and

wherein the processor selects the one or more batteries from the plurality of storage batteries further based on the consumption amounts for the one or more load devices.

3. The power distribution device according to claim 2, wherein the processor further acquires temperature information about each of the plurality of storage batteries, and

wherein the processor selects the one or more batteries from the plurality of storage batteries further based on the temperature information.

4. The power distribution device according to claim 3, wherein the processor further selects the one or more batteries from the plurality of storage batteries such that deterioration of a whole one of the plurality of storage batteries is minimized.

5. The power distribution device according to claim 1,

wherein the one or more loading devices have respective determined priorities indicating orders of priority in which electric power is supplied to these loading devices, and

the processor further:

determines, based on the priorities, which of the plurality of storage batteries is electrically coupled to each of the one or more loading devices.

6. A method of distributing electric power comprising:

acquiring deterioration degree information from each of a plurality of storage batteries, wherein the deterioration degree information includes a state of health (SOH) value;

computing a battery deterioration factor for each of the plurality of storage batteries based on the SOH value of each respective battery,

calculating an output energy of each of the plurality of storage batteries based on Lagrange'"'"'s method of undetermined multipliers and the battery deterioration factor,

selecting one or more batteries from the plurality of storage batteries based on the calculated output energy of the one or more batteries; and

controlling a plurality of load interfaces and the plurality of battery interfaces to electrically couple the one or more batteries to one or more load devices.

7. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 6, further comprising

acquiring consumption amounts for the one or more load devices, and

wherein the selecting is further based on the consumption amounts for the one or more load devices.

8. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 7, further comprising:

acquiring temperature information about each of the plurality of storage batteries, and

wherein the selecting is further based on the temperature information.

9. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 8, wherein the selecting is performed such that deterioration of a whole one of the plurality of storage batteries is reduced to a minimum.

10. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 6,

wherein the one or more load devices have respective determined priorities indicating orders of priority in which electric power is supplied to these loading devices, and

the method further includes:

determining which of the plurality of storage batteries is electrically coupled to each of the one or more load devices.

11. A power distribution system comprising:

a plurality of power distribution devices, wherein each of the plurality of power distribution devices include;

a plurality of battery interfaces that are communicatively and electrically coupled to a plurality of storage batteries,

a plurality of load interfaces that are communicatively and electrically coupled to one or more load devices that consume electric power, and

an external communication interface;

a controller that is communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of power distribution devices via the external communication interface;

wherein the controller;

acquires deterioration degree information for each of the plurality of storage batteries from each of the plurality of power distribution devices, wherein the deterioration degree information includes a state of health (SOH) value,

computes a battery deterioration factor for each of the plurality of storage batteries from each of the plurality of power distribution devices based on the SOH value of each respective battery,

calculates an output energy of each of the plurality of storage batteries from each of the plurality of power distribution devices based on Lagrange'"'"'s method of undetermined multipliers and the battery deterioration factor,

selects one or more batteries from the plurality of storage batteries from each of the plurality of power distribution devices based on the calculated output energy of the one or more batteries, and

controls the plurality of load interfaces and the plurality of battery interfaces of the plurality of power distribution devices to electrically couple the one or more batteries to the one or more loads.