Multiplexed battery management communication interface

Abstract

The invention discloses a multiplexed battery management communication interface. A battery management system (BMS) may include: two or more transceivers to communicate with slave controllers connected to one or more batteries via different communication protocols; one or more shared output circuits between the two or more transceivers and additional components of the BMS; and one or more switches for selectively connecting one of the two or more transceivers to the one or more shared output circuits. The transceivers may share any combination or type of output circuit, including but not limited to a surge protection output circuit, an isolated output circuit, or a noise filtering output circuit.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 524,535, filed on June 30, 2023, entitled “MULTIPLEXED BATTERY MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION INTERFACE,” inventors William M. Dixon and Guy M. Dille, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to battery management systems (BMS), and more particularly, to a BMS providing a multiplexed output stage. Background Art

[0004] A typical battery management system (BMS) for lithium-ion or other non-lead battery chemistries typically includes a master BMS controller accessible to a user or technician, and a remote slave controller locally attached to one or more battery packs. The master controller and the slave controller are typically designed and produced by different companies, with the slave controller typically manufactured by the battery manufacturer. However, when considering the high battery voltages (sometimes up to 1500V) and the resulting need for large signal isolation devices (such as transformers) required for user safety, each communication interface typically requires its own complete circuit with relatively high complexity, resulting in high cost, high parts count, and more physical space required. Therefore, there is a need to develop systems and methods that address the above-mentioned deficiencies. Summary of the invention

[0005] In an embodiment, the technology described herein relates to a battery management system (BMS) comprising: two or more transceivers configured to communicate with a slave controller connected to one or more batteries via different communication protocols; one or more shared output circuits between the two or more transceivers and additional components of the BMS; and one or more switches for selectively connecting one of the two or more transceivers to the one or more shared output circuits.

[0006] In an implementation, the technology described herein relates to a BMS where at least one of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate over a wired communication channel.

[0007] In an implementation, the technology described herein relates to a BMS, wherein at least one of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate via a wireless communication channel.

[0008] In an embodiment, the technology described herein relates to a BMS, wherein a first transceiver of two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller associated with a first type among the slave controllers, and wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of a second type among the slave controllers.

[0009] In an embodiment, the technology described herein relates to a BMS, wherein a first transceiver of two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of a first type, and wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of a second type.

[0010] In an implementation, the technology described herein relates to a BMS wherein at least one of the two or more transceivers includes an application specific integrated circuit.

[0011] In implementations, the techniques described herein relate to a BMS wherein at least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a surge protection circuit.

[0012] In implementations, the techniques described herein relate to a BMS wherein at least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes an isolation circuit.

[0013] In an implementation, the techniques described herein relate to a BMS wherein at least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a noise filtering circuit.

[0014] In an implementation, the techniques described herein relate to a BMS wherein the different communication protocols include at least one of: different hardware or different command sets.

[0015] In an embodiment, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system comprising: one or more batteries; and a battery management system (BMS) configured to operate the one or more batteries, wherein the BMS comprises: two or more transceivers configured to communicate with a slave controller connected to the one or more batteries via different communication protocols; one or more shared output circuits between the two or more transceivers and additional components of the BMS; and one or more switches for selectively connecting one of the two or more transceivers to the one or more shared output circuits.

[0016] In embodiments, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system in which at least one of two or more transceivers is configured to communicate over a wired communication channel.

[0017] In an implementation, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system in which at least one of two or more transceivers is configured to communicate via a wireless communication channel.

[0018] In an embodiment, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system, wherein a first transceiver of two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller associated with a first type of slave controller, and wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of a second type of slave controller.

[0019] In an embodiment, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system, wherein a first transceiver of two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of a first type, and wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of a second type.

[0020] In an implementation, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system in which at least one of the two or more transceivers includes an application specific integrated circuit.

[0021] In embodiments, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system in which at least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a surge protection circuit.

[0022] In implementations, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system in which at least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes an isolation circuit.

[0023] In implementations, the technology described herein relates to an energy management system wherein at least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a noise filtering circuit.

[0024] In an implementation, the techniques described herein relate to an energy management system wherein different communication protocols include at least one of: different hardware or different command sets.

[0025] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and illustrative only and are not necessarily limitations of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Those skilled in the art may better appreciate the numerous advantages of the present disclosure by referring to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an energy management system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 2A is a simplified schematic diagram of a first design of a BMS according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 2B is a simplified schematic diagram of a second design of a BMS according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 2C is a simplified schematic diagram of a third design of a BMS according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Reference will now be made in detail to the disclosed subject matter, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure has been particularly illustrated and described with respect to certain embodiments and specific features thereof. The embodiments set forth herein are considered to be illustrative rather than restrictive. It should be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0032] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for providing a battery management system (BMS) having a multiplexed output stage.

[0033] In some embodiments, the energy management system includes a plurality of batteries and a BMS for controlling the operation of the batteries. In addition, the BMS may include circuitry suitable for operating with a variety of battery types or configurations.

[0034] It is contemplated herein that a typical system may include a master / slave configuration in which each cell or battery pack has a dedicated slave controller and in which the BMS operates as a master controller. In practice, these master and slave controllers may be designed and produced by different companies, with the slave controllers typically provided by the battery manufacturer. Different battery chemistries and / or product offerings from different companies may also utilize different communication protocols and / or isolation levels. For example, high voltage applications (e.g., up to or greater than 1500V) may require large signal isolation devices such as, but not limited to, transformers to meet safety and / or performance requirements.

[0035] As a result, typical BMS equipment may be designed to work with a single output configuration (e.g., communication protocol, isolation circuit, etc.), or may provide switches to enable operation with a duplicate system. Such solutions suffer from operational inflexibility, high complexity, high parts count, and / or high cost.

[0036] In some embodiments, the BMS combines (e.g., multiplexes) output stages of separate communication interfaces (e.g., transceivers) into a single circuit (e.g., a single set of parts). Such a design can beneficially provide flexible operation with different battery chemistries and / or output level requirements while also maintaining relatively low parts count, low complexity, and low cost. Thus, such a BMS can accommodate multiple types of slave controllers at a given cost point, which can improve supply chain flexibility, among other benefits.

[0037] Now refer to Figures 1 to 2C , according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods for a BMS with a multiplexed output stage are described in more detail.

[0038] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an energy management system 100 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] In some embodiments, the energy management system 100 includes a battery management system (BMS) 102 connected to one or more batteries 104. The energy management system 100 can include any number or type of batteries 104, such as, but not limited to, lithium-ion batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, or lead-acid batteries. In addition, the batteries 104 can be formed as a single unit or multiple units connected in series or parallel. For example, the batteries 104 can be formed as a rack of battery sub-units.

[0040] In some embodiments, any of the batteries 104 may include components for performing various functions such as, but not limited to, monitoring, control, or communication. For example, the battery 104 may include one or more sensors for monitoring characteristics such as, but not limited to, charge, state of charge, voltage, input or output current, temperature, or predicted life. As another example, the battery 104 may include: charging circuitry for controlling charge / discharge rates; circuitry for preventing overvoltage, overcurrent, or overtemperature conditions; and the like.

[0041] BMS 102 may include any type of battery management or control system known in the art and may perform a variety of operations.

[0042] In some embodiments, the BMS 102 includes a controller 106. The controller 106 may include one or more processors 108 configured to execute program instructions maintained on a memory 110 or storage medium. In this regard, the one or more processors 108 of the controller 106 may perform any of the various processing steps described throughout the present disclosure.

[0043] The one or more processors 108 of the controller 106 may include any processor or processing element known in the art. For the purposes of the present disclosure, the term "processor" or "processing element" may be broadly defined to cover any device having one or more processing or logic elements (e.g., one or more microprocessor devices, one or more application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) devices, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs)). In this sense, the one or more processors 108 may include any device configured to execute algorithms and / or instructions (e.g., program instructions stored in a memory). In some embodiments, the one or more processors 108 may be implemented as a desktop computer, a mainframe computer system, a workstation, an image computer, a parallel processor, a networked computer, or any other computer system configured to execute a program that is configured to operate as described throughout the present disclosure or to operate in conjunction with the energy management system 100 as described throughout the present disclosure.

[0044] In addition, the different subsystems of the energy management system 100 may include processors or logic elements suitable for performing at least a portion of the steps described in the present disclosure. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure, but is merely illustrative. In addition, the steps described throughout the present disclosure may be performed by a single controller 106 or alternatively by multiple controllers. In addition, the controller 106 may include one or more controllers housed in a common housing or in multiple housings. In this way, any controller or combination of controllers may be individually packaged as a module suitable for integration into the energy management system 100.

[0045] The memory 110 may include any storage medium known in the art suitable for storing program instructions that can be executed by one or more processors 108. For example, the memory 110 may include a non-transitory storage medium. As another example, the memory 110 may include, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic or optical storage device (e.g., a disk), a tape, a solid-state drive, etc. It should also be noted that the memory 110 can be housed in a common controller housing with one or more processors 108. In some embodiments, the memory 110 can be located at a remote location relative to the physical location of the one or more processors 108 and the controller 106. For example, one or more processors 108 of the controller 106 can access a remote memory (e.g., a server) that can be accessed via a network (e.g., the Internet, an intranet, etc.).

[0046] In some embodiments, the BMS 102 can monitor various characteristics of any of the batteries 104, including but not limited to charge, state of charge, voltage, input or output current, temperature, or predicted life. In some embodiments, the BMS 102 can perform various control functions, such as but not limited to load balancing between the batteries 104, charge control, overvoltage protection, overcurrent protection, or overheat protection.

[0047] In some embodiments, the BMS 102 may communicate with additional systems (e.g., but not limited to, external control systems, additional BMSs 102, batteries 104, etc.). For example, the energy management system 100 may include one or more slave controllers 112 connected to any combination of batteries 104. For example, Figure 1 As shown, any battery 104 may have a dedicated slave controller 112. As another example, although not explicitly shown, any particular slave controller 112 may be connected to any number of batteries 104.

[0048] Each slave controller 112 can provide various functions. For example, the slave controller 112 can monitor various characteristics of any connected battery 104, including but not limited to charge, charge state, voltage, input or output current, temperature, or predicted life. The data can then be provided back to the BMS 102 for master control operations. As another example, the slave controller 112 can perform various control operations, such as but not limited to load balancing, charging control, overvoltage protection, overcurrent protection, or overheating protection between the connected batteries 104. Such control operations can be completed autonomously and / or upon receiving instructions from the BMS 102. In a general sense, the BMS 102 and any slave controller 112 can coordinate any control operation of the energy management system 100.

[0049] In some embodiments, the energy management system 100 includes one or more housings 114 for protecting and / or housing various components, such as, but not limited to, the BMS 102 or any of the batteries 104. For example, the housing 114 may include a cabinet or rack system including various openings, platforms, rails, guides, etc. suitable for housing the various components. As will be described in more detail below, the housing 114 may also include components suitable for providing electrical connections to or between any installed components.

[0050] The energy management system 100 can provide a variety of different functions, which can be managed at least in part by the BMS 102. For example, the energy management system 100 can be connected to an external system, such as but not limited to a power grid 116, a power source 118 (e.g., solar energy, wind energy, etc.), or a load 120. In some embodiments, the energy management system 100 operates as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). In this configuration, under normal circumstances, the load 120 can be powered by any combination of the power grid 116 or the power source 118, but when the power grid 116 and / or the power source 118 are insufficient, the load 120 can be powered by the battery 104. In addition, the battery 104 can be charged by the power grid 116 and / or the power source 118 and / or can provide power back to the power grid 116 and / or the power source 118.

[0051] Now refer to FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C , according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a BMS 102 having a multiplexed output stage is described.

[0052] Figure 2A is a simplified schematic diagram of a first design of a BMS 102 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] In some embodiments, the BMS 102 includes two or more transceivers 202, one or more switches 204 for selecting between the transceivers 202, and one or more shared output circuits 206. For example, each of the transceivers 202 can be configured to communicate using a different communication protocol. As an illustration, each of the transceivers 202 can be configured to communicate with a slave controller 112 using a different communication protocol (e.g., via a Figure 2A). The communication protocol may include or otherwise encompass any aspect of the communication between the BMS 102 and the slave controller 112, such as, but not limited to, hardware (e.g., wired communication via electrical wiring; optical communication via fiber optic cables and / or free space technology; radio frequency (RF) communication, etc.), electrical requirements (e.g., impedance requirements, voltage requirements, current requirements, etc.), or command sets. As an illustration, it is contemplated herein that different manufacturers may utilize different communication protocols such that only a particular model of a typical BMS 102 and a typical slave controller 112 are able to communicate. However, in an embodiment, a BMS 102 having a multiplexed shared output circuit 206 and a plurality of transceivers 202 may be adapted to selectively communicate via different communication protocols, which may greatly expand the interoperability of such a BMS 102 with a variety of slave controllers 112. Such a BMS 102 may then be compatible with and adapted to control a variety of types of batteries 104 together with a variety of slave controllers 112, while maintaining a common shared output circuit 206 to maintain a small footprint, a low number of parts, and a low cost.

[0054] Each transceiver 202 may include any number or combination of components suitable for sending and / or receiving communication signals over any type of communication channel (e.g., wired and / or wireless communication channels) or a combination thereof. For example, the transceiver 202 may include a modulation component, such as, but not limited to, a modulator and / or a demodulator. As another example, the transceiver 202 may include one or more antennas suitable for RF communication using any protocol, such as, but not limited to, WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), etc. As another example, a transceiver 202 suitable for optical communication may include a light source and / or a light detector. In addition, any transceiver in the transceiver 202 may be implemented using any type of hardware, such as, but not limited to, an integrated circuit (IC) or an ASIC. As an illustration, Figure 2A Depicted are two transceivers 202 provided as separate ASICs connected to a shared output circuit 206 and ultimately to a PCB header 208 for connection to additional components of the BMS 102. However, it should be understood that Figure 2A and the associated descriptions are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

[0055] The BMS 102 may include any number or type of shared output circuits 206 (e.g., multiplexed output circuits) suitable for use with any of the transceivers 202. In some embodiments, the shared output circuits 206 include surge protection circuits. In some embodiments, the shared output circuits 206 include noise filtering circuits. In some embodiments, the shared output circuits 206 include isolation circuits (e.g., current isolation output circuits 206). Any of the shared output circuits 206 may include any number or type of components suitable for providing associated functions, including but not limited to passive components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, diodes, transformers, etc.) and / or active components (e.g., amplifiers, etc.). In addition, any of the shared output circuits 206 may be implemented using any type of hardware (e.g., but not limited to, integrated circuits (ICs) or ASICs).

[0056] The BMS 102 may include any number or type of switches 204 for selectively coupling the shared output circuit 206 to a selected transceiver 202. For example, while Figure 2A A single switch 204 is depicted, but the BMS 102 may include multiple switches 204 for connecting various pins or terminals of the transceiver 202 to the shared output circuit 206 in any suitable configuration.

[0057] Switch 204 may include any number or type of components suitable for selectively coupling shared output circuit 206 to one of transceivers 202 , and may include, but is not limited to, mechanical relays or transistors.

[0058] In some embodiments, the switch 204 is connected to the controller 106 of the BMS 102. In this manner, the controller 106 can control the state of the switch 204 (eg, via a control signal) to provide selective coupling between the shared output circuit 206 and one of the transceivers 202.

[0059] It is contemplated herein that different slave controllers 112 (e.g., associated with different battery chemistries, different companies, etc.) may have different requirements for the output circuitry located between the BMS 102 and the battery 104. Thus, any of the shared output circuits 206 may be designed or configured to operate within a particular performance tolerance utilizing two or more configurations associated with two or more transceivers 202. For example, different batteries 104, slave controllers 112, and / or transceivers 202 may have different transformer requirements and / or tolerances (e.g., associated with the isolated shared output circuit 206). As another example, different batteries 104, slave controllers 112, and / or transceivers 202 may have different impedance requirements and / or tolerances (e.g., associated with the isolated shared output circuit 206). As another example, the switch 204 may have different requirements, such as, but not limited to, voltage range, number of supported data lines, data rate, etc.

[0060] In some applications, a single design or configuration of the shared output circuit 206 may be suitable for operation with each of the transceivers 202 (and connected devices including the slave controllers 112 , the batteries 104 , etc.) within performance tolerances. In this case, the shared output circuit 206 may have a static configuration, and the BMS 102 may selectively switch between different slave controllers 112 using the switch 204 without modifying the shared output circuit 206 .

[0061] In some applications, a single design or configuration of the shared output circuit 206 may not be suitable for operation within performance tolerances with each of the transceivers 202 (and connected devices including the slave controllers 112, the battery 104, etc.). It is contemplated herein that the slave controllers 112 may not generally be designed to be interoperable, and different models of slave controllers 112 may be continually developed. As a result, it may not be practical to use a single design or configuration of the shared output circuit 206 for all transceivers 202 (and connected devices including the slave controllers 112, the battery 104, etc.).

[0062] In some implementations, switch 204 can be configured to directly modify the operation of any of shared output circuits 206. For example, switch 204 can selectively connect or disconnect components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc.) in series or parallel with any component within shared output circuit 206 to modify the operation of shared output circuit 206 to meet performance tolerances. In this manner, although Figure 2A Switch 204 is depicted as distinct from shared output circuit 206 , but this is for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the spirit or scope of the present disclosure.

[0063] Figure 2B is a simplified schematic diagram of a second design of a BMS 102 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2B As depicted, BMS 102 includes intermediate circuitry 210 that may selectively modify characteristics of any of shared output circuitry 206 when connected to a particular transceiver 202. For example, such intermediate circuitry may include, but is not limited to, level shifters or clamping circuitry.

[0064] In some embodiments, the BMS 102 may include at least some output circuitry dedicated to a particular transceiver 202 or a group of transceivers 202. As an illustration, Figure 2C 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a third design of a BMS 102 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition to the BMS 102 further including one or more dedicated output circuits 212 connected to a specific transceiver 202-1, Figure 2C Basically similar to Figure 2A In this manner, the BMS 102 may use any combination of shared output circuits 206 and dedicated output circuits 212 for any combination of transceivers 202 .

[0065] Dedicated output circuit 212 may include any type of output circuit, such as, but not limited to, surge protection circuit, noise filtering circuit, isolation circuit, etc. Therefore, the description of shared output circuit 206 may be extended to dedicated output circuit 212 .

[0066] The subject matter described herein sometimes shows different components contained in or connected to other components.It should be understood that the architecture depicted in this way is only exemplary, and many other architectures that realize the same function can actually be implemented.In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of the components that realize the same function is effectively "associated" to achieve the desired function.Therefore, any two components that are combined to realize a specific function in this article can be regarded as "associated" with each other to achieve the desired function, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components.Similarly, any two components that are so associated can also be regarded as "connected" or "coupled" to achieve the desired function, and any two components that can be so associated can also be regarded as "coupleable" to achieve the desired function.Specific examples that can be coupled include but are not limited to components that can interact physically and / or physically interact and / or components that can interact wirelessly and / or wirelessly interact and / or components that can interact logically and / or logically interact.

[0067] It is believed that the disclosure and its many attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made to the form, construction and arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosed subject matter or sacrificing all of its substantial advantages. The described forms are illustrative only, and the appended claims are intended to cover and include such changes. In addition, it should be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A battery management system BMS, comprising: two or more transceivers configured to communicate with a slave controller connected to one or more batteries via different communication protocols; one or more shared output circuits between the two or more transceivers and additional components of the BMS; as well as One or more switches for selectively connecting one of the two or more transceivers to the one or more shared output circuits.

2. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate via a wired communication channel.

3. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate via a wireless communication channel.

4. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: A first transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller of the slave controllers associated with a first type, wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of a second type of the slave controllers.

5. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: A first transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of the first type, wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of the second type.

6. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the two or more transceivers includes an application specific integrated circuit.

7. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a surge protection circuit.

8. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes an isolation circuit.

9. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a noise filtering circuit.

10. The BMS according to claim 1, wherein: The different communication protocols include at least one of the following: different hardware or different command sets.

11. An energy management system, comprising: one or more batteries; as well as A battery management system BMS, the BMS being configured to operate the one or more batteries, wherein the BMS comprises: two or more transceivers configured to communicate with a slave controller connected to the one or more batteries via different communication protocols; one or more shared output circuits between the two or more transceivers and additional components of the BMS; and One or more switches for selectively connecting one of the two or more transceivers to the one or more shared output circuits.

12. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: At least one of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate via a wired communication channel.

13. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: At least one of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate via a wireless communication channel.

14. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: A first transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller of the slave controllers associated with a first type, wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of a second type of the slave controllers.

15. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: A first transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a first slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of the first type, wherein a second transceiver of the two or more transceivers is configured to communicate with a second slave controller of the slave controllers that is associated with one or more batteries of the second type.

16. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: At least one of the two or more transceivers includes an application specific integrated circuit.

17. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: At least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a surge protection circuit.

18. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: At least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes an isolation circuit.

19. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: At least one of the one or more shared output circuits includes a noise filtering circuit.

20. The energy management system according to claim 11, wherein: The different communication protocols include at least one of the following: different hardware or different command sets.

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