Electric device and method for charging and discharging battery unit of the same

• US 6,741,065 B1
• Filed: 01/30/2002
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tokyo R & D Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tokyo R & D Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ishii, Hiroshi, Aoki, Takashi, Ohnuma, Nobuhito
• Primary Examiner(s): TIBBITS, PIA FLORENCE
• Application Number:
  US10/030,165
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 320/104, 320/119, 320/120, 320/102, 320/103, 320/106, 320/124, 320/122, 320/127, 320/135, 320/132, 307/10.7, 307/9.1, 307/10.6, 307/11, 180/65.2, 180/65.6, 180/65.4, 340/636, 340/648
• US Class Current: 320/122
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/10 for monitoring or controlling batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0024 Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/06 with automatic change-over , e.g. UPS systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

An electric device comprises a plurality of detachable battery units (2, 3, 4), each consisting of a set of storage battery packs (2B, 3B, 4B) and memories (11, 12, 13) storing information about the charge and discharge states of the battery packs. Connectors are provided to connect and disconnect an electric device (1) electrically incident to each battery unit being attached or detached. The device includes a driver (9) for driving a load, a charger (5) for charging the storage battery packs (2B, 3B, 4B) by referring to the information stored in the memories (11, 12, 13) of the respective mounted battery units (2, 3, 4), and a controller (6) for controlling the electric power supplied from the individual battery units (2, 3, 4) to the driver (9) by referring to the above-mentioned information.

Claims

1. An electric device, comprising:

a plurality of battery units detachably mounted thereon, each battery unit constituted by pairing a storage battery pack with a memory for storing at least information about charge and discharge states of the storage battery pack;

connectors provided on said each battery unit for performing electrical connection/disconnection to/from other elements of said electric device;

a driver for driving a load and a controller for controlling supply of electric power from said each battery unit through said connectors to said driver by referring to the information stored in said memory of said each mounted battery unit; and

a charger for charging said storage battery pack through said connectors by referring to the information stored in said memory of said each battery unit;

wherein said charger includes means for reading at least information about charge and discharge states of the storage battery pack stored in said memory of said each battery unit, and means for writing into said memory at least the information about charge and discharge states of said storage battery pack in the same unit.

2. An electric device according to claim 1,

wherein said charger is provided in said each battery unit, and said charger has means for deciding a charge order by mutually referring to the information stored in said memory of said each mounted battery unit.

3. An electric device according to claim 1,

wherein a switch connected to said storage battery pack in series is provided in said each battery units,

said charger is means for charging said each storage battery pack through said switch by referring to the information stored in said memory of said each battery unit, and

said controller is means for controlling supply of electric power from said storage battery pack to said driver through said switch of said each battery unit by referring to the information stored in said memory of said each battery unit.

4. An electric device according to claim 1, wherein

said charger is constituted to be a unit attachable/detachable to/from said electric device main body.

5. An electric device according to claim 3, wherein

said charger is constituted to be a unit attachable/detachable to/from said electric device main body.

6. An electric device according to claim 1, wherein

said controller has means for reading the information stored in said memory of said each battery unit to control action of the whole device.

7. An electric device according to claim 1, wherein

said memory of said each battery unit also stores information about characteristics of said storage battery pack, and said charger has means for controlling charge of said storage battery pack, by referring to the information about the characteristics of said storage battery pack stored in said memory of said each battery unit, in accordance with the characteristics.

8. An electric device according to claim 1, wherein said memory of said each battery unit also stores information about characteristics of said storage battery pack, and said controller has means for controlling discharge from said storage battery pack, by referring to the information about the characteristics of said storage battery pack stored in said memory of said each battery unit, in accordance with the characteristics.

9. An electric device according to claim 1, wherein

said controller has means for displaying a remaining capacity of said storage battery pack of said each battery unit based on the information stored in said each battery unit, and displaying a charge request, giving an alarm, or both when a storage battery pack needing to be charged exists.

10. A method for charging and discharging a battery unit in an electric device comprising:

a plurality of battery units detachably mounted thereon, each battery unit constituted by pairing a storage battery pack with a memory for storing at least information about charge and discharge states of the storage battery pack;

a driver for driving a load;

a controller for controlling supply of electric power from said each battery unit to said driver; and

a charger for charging said storage battery pack of said each battery unit,

comprising the steps of;

discharging at different times the storage battery packs of said respective mounted battery units, and then charging them by said charger under the control of said controller, by referring to the information stored in said memories; and

writing into said memory at least the information about charge and discharge states of said storage battery pack in the same battery unit.

11. A method for charging and discharging the battery unit in the electric device according to claim 10, wherein

the step of discharging and charging is a step of discharging the storage battery packs of said respective mounted battery units in decreasing order of remaining capacity, and charging them in increasing order of remaining capacity, by said controller and said charger, by referring to the information about charge and discharge states stored in said memories.

12. A method for charging and discharging the battery unit in the electric device according to claim 10, wherein

the step of discharging and charging is a step of discharging the storage battery packs of said mounted battery units in increasing order of remaining capacity, and charging them when the remaining capacities become a predetermined value or less, by said controller and said charger, by referring to the information about charge and discharge states stored in said memories.

13. A method for charging and discharging the battery unit in the electric device according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

selecting one or more of said battery units by said controller and said charger by referring to the information about charge and discharge states stored in said memories; and

selecting remaining one or more of said battery units by said controller and said charger by referring to the information about charge and discharge states stored in said memories, and wherein

the step of discharging and charging is a step of discharging each of storage battery packs of former selected battery units, and charging each of storage battery packs of latter selected battery units, by said controller and said charger, by referring to the information about charge and discharge states stored in said memories of said mounted battery units.

14. A method for charging and discharging the battery unit in the electric device according to claim 10, wherein

the step of discharging and charging is a step of discharging in order the storage battery packs of said respective mounted battery units to a predetermined remaining capacity, and then charging them, by said controller and said charger, by referring to the information about charge and discharge states stored in said memories.