Circuit and method for balancing battery cells
First Claim
1. A cell balancing circuit comprising:
- a shunt path coupled to a cell for enabling a bypass current of said cell;
an auxiliary current path coupled in parallel with said shunt path;
a third current path coupled in parallel with said auxiliary current path; and
a controller operable for conducting said third current path to enable a current flowing through said third current path if said cell is unbalanced,wherein said auxiliary current path is conducted to enable a current flowing through said auxiliary current path in response to said current flowing through said third current path,wherein said shunt path is conducted to enable said bypass current in response to said current flowing through said auxiliary current path.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention provided circuits and methods for balancing battery cells. According to a first embodiment, a cell balancing circuit includes an auxiliary current path for controlling a conductance status of a shunt path. According to a second embodiment, a cell balancing circuit utilizes a total voltage of multiple neighboring cells in a battery pack to generate a current. Based on the current, a voltage drop is generated to conduct a shunt path corresponding to one cell of the neighboring cells. According to a third embodiment, a cell balancing circuit utilizes a total voltage of multiple neighboring cells in a battery pack to generate a current. Based on the current, a voltage drop is generated to conduct a shunt path corresponding to one cell of the neighboring cells. The cell balancing circuit can turn on multiple internal switches at the same time to balance multiple neighboring cells simultaneously.
49 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A cell balancing circuit comprising:
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a shunt path coupled to a cell for enabling a bypass current of said cell; an auxiliary current path coupled in parallel with said shunt path; a third current path coupled in parallel with said auxiliary current path; and a controller operable for conducting said third current path to enable a current flowing through said third current path if said cell is unbalanced, wherein said auxiliary current path is conducted to enable a current flowing through said auxiliary current path in response to said current flowing through said third current path, wherein said shunt path is conducted to enable said bypass current in response to said current flowing through said auxiliary current path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for balancing a cell, said method comprising:
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conducting a first current path to enable a first current flowing through said first current path if said cell is unbalanced; conducting a second current path in parallel with said first current path in response to said first current to enable a second current flowing through said second current path; and conducting a shunt path in parallel with said second current path to enable a bypass current flowing from a first terminal of said cell through said shut path to a second terminal of said cell in response to said second current. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A cell balancing circuit comprising:
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a current path coupled in parallel with a plurality of neighboring cells comprising a first cell and a second cell; a shunt path coupled in parallel with said first cell; a controller operable for conducting said current path to generate a current flowing through said current path according to a total voltage of said plurality of neighboring cells if said first cell is unbalanced; and a resistive element coupled between said current path and said first cell, wherein said current flows through said resistive element to produce a voltage drop on said resistive element, and wherein a conductance status of said shunt path is determined by said voltage drop. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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Specification