Proxy broadcast in wireless battery management

Abstract

To provide techniques for rebroadcasting control data in a wireless battery management system.SOLUTION: Proxy broadcasting techniques for a wireless battery management system can improve communication performance by designating a subset of clusters to serve as proxy broadcasters for another subset of clusters that are experiencing issues with reliably receiving control data from network managers. The techniques can include having two network managers broadcasting the control data in specified portions of a timeslot. The designated proxy broadcasters can receive the control data in a first portion of a timeslot and transmit the received control data to bad clusters in a second portion of the same timeslot.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless battery management systems (WBMS), and more particularly to techniques for rebroadcasting control data. [Background technology]

[0002] Electric vehicles are becoming very popular. One factor driving the adoption of electric vehicles is improved battery management. Using a WBMS, an electric vehicle can monitor battery levels and communicate that information to a control unit, which can then operate the vehicle more reliably and efficiently. In some scenarios, the control unit may send control data to different battery modules at high frequency to control battery operation. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] This document describes a method for proxy broadcasting in a wireless battery management system, the method including: transmitting, by a first manager, control data to a plurality of battery clusters on a first channel in a first portion of a time slot; receiving, by a first battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters, control data from the first manager on the first channel in the first portion of the time slot; transmitting, by the first battery cluster, control data to a second battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters on a second channel in a second portion of the time slot; and receiving, by the second battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters, control data from the first battery cluster on the second channel in the second portion of the time slot.

[0004] This document also describes a wireless battery management system, the system comprising: a first manager that transmits control data to a plurality of battery clusters on a first channel in a first portion of a time slot; a first battery cluster of a plurality of battery clusters that transmits control data to a second battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters on a second channel in a second portion of the time slot; and a second battery cluster that receives control data from the first battery cluster on the second channel in the second portion of the time slot.

[0005] This document further describes a wireless battery node comprising at least one hardware processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, cause the at least one hardware processor to perform operations, the operations including receiving control data from a first manager on a first channel in a first portion of a timeslot and transmitting control data to a second battery node on a second channel in a second portion of the timeslot. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] The various accompanying drawings merely illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and are not to be considered as limiting its scope. [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless battery management system (WBMS). [Figure 2] 1 illustrates a block diagram of a WBMS for communicating control data. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates a block diagram of WBMS for proxy broadcasting. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an example of a time slot for proxy broadcasting. [Figure 5] 1 illustrates an exemplary portion of a communication schedule for a proxy broadcast. [Figure 6]1 illustrates an exemplary portion of a communication schedule for a proxy broadcast. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] As mentioned above, the control unit may transmit control data to multiple battery clusters. For example, some electric vehicles may use an alternating current (AC) battery system. The AC battery system may include multiple battery clusters (e.g., 50 to 150 clusters), each of which includes a switch that generates a discretized AC waveform. The cluster may also include a microprocessor that executes a switching algorithm and a communication link that receives control data, including switching timing updates. The switching timing updates may be transmitted frequently (e.g., every 1 millisecond). Each cluster receives updates to control switching, and failure to receive the switching timing information may result in battery malfunction.

[0008] Some clusters may experience radio frequency (RF) interference or significant path loss due to obstacles and absorbing elements and may not reliably receive information from the network manager. Additionally, the spatial layout of the battery packs may cause some clusters to be closer to peer clusters than to the network manager. The proxy broadcasting techniques described herein can improve communication performance by designating a subset of clusters to act as proxy broadcasters for another subset of clusters ("bad" clusters) that are experiencing problems reliably receiving control data from the network manager. This technique can include having two network managers broadcast control data in designated portions of a time slot. The designated proxy broadcasters can receive the control data in a first portion of the time slot and retransmit the received control data to the bad clusters in a second portion of the same time slot.

[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the WBMS 100. The WBMS 100 may include multiple battery modules 102.1-102.n, each including multiple battery cells. For example, the battery modules 102.1-102.n may include high-energy cells made of lithium-ion, sodium-ion, or solid-state materials. Batteries of different specifications, sizes, and shapes may be used. Each module may be coupled to a respective wireless cluster 104.1-104.n. The WBMS 100 may also include a BMS controller 120 with dual network managers 122 and an electronic control unit (ECU) 128.

[0010] Each cluster 104.1-104.n may include one or more BMS monitors 106 and wireless nodes 108. The BMS monitors 106 may be coupled to the battery modules and may monitor various conditions or characteristics of the battery modules. The BMS monitors 106 may, as illustrative examples, be provided as integrated circuits, which may include a monolithically integrated BMS circuit or an integrated module including multiple integrated circuit dies or other circuit elements within a commonly shared integrated circuit device package.

[0011] The BMS monitor 106 may include various sensors. The BMS monitor 106 may sample the battery voltage to monitor the battery level. The BMS monitor may also monitor the current and external surface temperature of the battery module.

[0012] The BMS monitor 106 may be coupled to the wireless node 108 by a communication interface, such as a serial peripheral interface (SPI). The BMS monitor 106 and the wireless node 108 may be provided on a single printed circuit board (PCB). The wireless node 108 may include a wireless system-on-chip (SoC), which may include a wireless transceiver that communicates with the dual network manager 122 over a wireless network.

[0013] The wireless node 108 may include a microprocessor 110 and a network security module 112. The microprocessor 110 may execute a switching algorithm based on control information received from the dual network manager 122. The wireless node 108 may include memory (not shown) for storing the switching algorithm and other information for operating the wireless node 108. The network security module 112 may encrypt and decrypt communications between the wireless node 108 and the dual network manager 122.

[0014] Each of the wireless clusters 104.1-104.n may include an H-bridge driver circuit 114 and an H-bridge 116. The H-bridge driver circuit 114 may be coupled to the wireless node 108. For example, the microprocessor 110 may send H-bridge control data to the H-bridge driver circuit 114 based on control information and switching algorithms received from the dual network manager 122. The H-bridge driver circuit 114 may then generate drive signals that control the H-bridge 116 to provide different voltage levels (also referred to as independent states), VN+, 0, and VN−. The different voltage levels may be used to generate a discretized AC waveform. When each wireless cluster is in bypass mode, zero voltage may be provided. For example, if a cluster does not receive control information for a certain period of time (e.g., 5 milliseconds), the cluster may automatically transition to bypass mode as a safety measure.

[0015] The wireless clusters 104.1-104.n may communicate with each other and with the dual network manager 122 through a wireless network. The wireless network may be implemented as a mesh network or the like. The wireless network may be implemented using a short-range wireless communication network, for example, at approximately 2.4 GHz, using time-synchronized channel hopping (TSCH). The dual network manager 122 may act as a central node, and the wireless clusters 104.1-104.n may act as peripheral nodes. The wireless clusters 104.1-104.n may search for a new network manager when released or disconnected by the dual network manager 122. The wireless network may be a secure network. For example, a secure connection may be established, for example, by using certificate verification, before the wireless clusters 104.1-104.n communicate with the new network manager.

[0016] The dual network manager 122 may include a first manager 124 and a second manager 126 for communicating with the wireless clusters 104.1-104.n. The first manager 124 and the second manager 126 may be provided as wireless SOCs.

[0017] The network manager 122 may be coupled to an ECU 128 via a communication interface, such as an SPI. The ECU 128 may include a central BMS / control app 130 and an interface library 132 to control the operation of the WBMS 100. The ECU may be coupled to a system monitor 134. The system monitor 134 may receive vehicle and motor information, such as motor position and speed.

[0018] Based on vehicle and motor information, ECU 128 may generate control data for operating different radio clusters 104.1-104.n to generate discretized AC waveforms. WBMS 100 may modify the characteristics of the discretized AC waveforms based on current driving conditions. The frequency and amplitude of the discretized waveforms (e.g., sinusoidal) may be adjusted based on vehicle and motor information. For example, vehicle torque may correspond to a high amplitude with a large set (e.g., all) of clusters operating, i.e., cycling between their positive, zero, and negative contributions. On the other hand, if the vehicle is pulling into a parking space, only a small set of clusters, such as one cluster, may be turned on for the less power required by the vehicle while the other clusters are held at zero voltage. The amplitude of the AC waveform can control torque, which leads to acceleration, and the frequency of the AC waveform can control motor speed.

[0019] The dual network manager 122 may transmit control data to the wireless clusters 104.1-104.n in a periodic manner. In fact, the control data may be transmitted to the wireless clusters 104.1-104.n very frequently for AC battery operation, such as every millisecond.

[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a WBMS 200 for communicating control data. The WBMS 200 includes a dual network manager 202. The WBMS 200 includes multiple wireless clusters 204.1 through 204.n arranged in strings 1 through k. For example, wireless clusters 204.1 through 204.n may generate a discretized AC waveform for an electric motor, such as a three-phase motor. In this case, three strings may be provided (e.g., k=3), with each string generating a discretized sine wave 120 degrees out of phase based on control data received from the dual network manager 202. Each string may include N wireless clusters. For example, each string may include 18 wireless clusters (e.g., N=18) for a total of 54 clusters (e.g., n=54). In this example, the clusters may generate different voltage levels, such as +16V, 0V, and −16V.

[0021] The dual network manager 202 may transmit control data periodically, such as every millisecond or less. For proper battery operation, the control data must be reliably received by the wireless clusters 204.1-204.n. To improve reliability, redundancy in wireless communications may be utilized. The dual network manager 202 may transmit the same control data multiple times within the same time slot. For example, a first manager may transmit control data on a first channel in a first portion of the time slot, and a second manager may transmit the same control data on a second channel in a second portion of the time slot. In some examples, the first manager and the second manager may transmit control data in the same portion of the time slot on different channels, such as different frequencies in a TSCH scheme. Redundancy in the transmission of control data may improve communication reliability and, therefore, battery operation efficiency.

[0022] However, even with the added redundancy of transmitting control data from multiple network managers, the physical characteristics of the spatial layout of the battery pack may still result in some wireless clusters not being able to reliably receive control data from the network manager. To add more redundancy, the WBMS may designate some wireless clusters to act as proxy broadcasters to retransmit control data to "bad" clusters that receive control data less frequently from the network manager.

[0023] 3 illustrates a block diagram of a WBMS 300 for proxy broadcasting. The WBMS 300 includes a first manager 302, a second manager 304, and multiple wireless clusters 306. In this example, the WBMS 300 may determine that clusters 306.1, 306.2, and 306.3 are "bad" clusters in that they are not reliably receiving control data from the first manager 302 and the second manager 304.

[0024] In some examples, wireless clusters can self-determine whether they are bad clusters. For example, by knowing the operating frequency of the WBMS 300, wireless clusters can dynamically self-determine whether they are bad or not by self-monitoring link reliability, such as packet delivery ratio, for the two managers compared to predefined conditions. For example, with an operating frequency of 1 ms, all wireless clusters expect a control message from one of the managers every 1 ms, and if any of the wireless clusters does not receive a control message for, e.g., 3 ms, that respective cluster can change their status to bad cluster.

[0025] Bad cluster determination can also be performed before network deployment by studying the radio environment in the battery pack offline, evaluating the link reliability between all radio clusters and the dual manager, and identifying the radio cluster with the weakest link to the two managers.

[0026] Another approach to determining the bad proxy may be performed as part of a background ongoing discovery process towards the two managers, where each cluster monitors link reliability, such as a received signal strength indicator (RSSI). This information may be sent to the network manager to determine the bad proxy with the weakest link towards the two managers.

[0027] The WBMS 300 may then designate a subset of clusters as proxy broadcasters for the bad clusters. For example, clusters 306.4, 306.5, and 306.6 may be designated as proxy broadcasters. The proxy broadcasters 306.4, 306.5, and 306.6 may receive control data from the first manager 302 (and / or the second manager 304) during a first portion of the time slot. The proxy broadcasters 306.4, 306.5, and 306.6 may store the control data in a buffer. During a second portion of the time slot, the proxy broadcasters 306.4, 306.5, and 306.6 may transmit control data to the bad clusters 306.1, 306.2, and 306.3.

[0028] In some examples, proxy broadcasters 306.4, 306.5, 306.6 may transmit control data on the same channel (f1) of a TSCH scheme, for example, in which case bad clusters 306.1, 306.2, 306.3 may all be tuned to receive control data on the same channel f1 during the second portion of the timeslot.

[0029] In some examples, proxy broadcasters 306.4, 306.5, and 306.6 may transmit control data on different channels intended for one or more different bad clusters. For example, proxy broadcaster 306.4 may transmit control data on a first channel (f1) during the second portion of a time slot intended for bad cluster 306.1. That is, bad cluster 306.1 may tune its system to the first channel (f1) to receive the control data during the second portion of the time slot. Proxy broadcaster 306.5 may transmit control data on a second channel (f2) during the second portion of a time slot intended for bad cluster 306.2. That is, bad cluster 306.2 may tune its system to the second channel (f2) to receive the control data during the second portion of the time slot. Proxy broadcaster 306.6 may transmit control data on a third channel (f3) during the second portion of a time slot intended for bad cluster 306.3. That is, bad cluster 306.3 may tune its system to a third channel, f3, to receive control data during the second portion of the timeslot.

[0030] The process of determining the proxy broadcaster may follow a similar approach as described above for identifying bad clusters. Reliable communication for bad clusters is ensured by selecting a proxy broadcaster that has strong, reliable links to both the network manager and the bad cluster itself.

[0031] 4 illustrates an example of a time slot 400 for proxy broadcasting. In FIG. 4, the use of the time slot 400 is from the perspective of a wireless cluster designated as a proxy broadcaster. In this example, the time slot 400 is approximately 1 millisecond (or 1000 us), although other time slot durations, such as time slots shorter than 1 millisecond, can be used. The dual network manager may receive control data for transmission from the ECU in time slot 400 within the previous time slot using a wired connection, such as an SPI.

[0032] A timeslot 400 includes a timeslot configuration 402 at the beginning of the timeslot. This timeslot configuration 402 is shared by all other portions of the timeslot communication, allowing multiple portions to be used for different communication actions. Before sending data within a timeslot, several steps are performed, including obtaining the data to be sent from an external source, such as ECU 128, and powering up and configuring the transceiver. Because these configuration operations involve software control and are therefore not completely deterministic, the configuration time is buffered for worst-case performance. Each timeslot includes its own respective timeslot configuration. Therefore, using different portions of a timeslot to communicate control data multiple times is different from, and more efficient than, communicating control data multiple times in consecutive timeslots.

[0033] The time slot 400 includes a receive portion 404 (i.e., a first portion). For example, the wireless cluster may receive control data from a first manager during the receive portion 404. During this time, the wireless cluster may transmit the contents of the control data received in the previous time slot to a respective component, such as an H-bridge driver or a BMS monitor.

[0034] The wireless cluster can store the received control data in the receive portion 404 in a hardware (HW) buffer 406. This step is important to the operation of the proxy broadcaster because these devices are responsible for both receiving and retransmitting data during the same time slot. Performing the retransmission operation in dedicated HW speeds up the process. For example, the exact same content received is retransmitted without modification, and no software processing is required. Software processing of the data, including content and header modifications, often adds significant delays that can be non-deterministic. The HW buffer 406 is relatively shorter than the software-driven time slot configuration 402.

[0035] The time slot 400 includes a transmit portion 408 (i.e., a second portion). The radio cluster may transmit to the faulty cluster control data stored in the HW buffer 406 that was received in the receive portion 404. As a time-saving measure, this transmission may occur at the same frequency as the receive portion 404, thereby eliminating the time required for the transceiver oscillator to be tuned to a new frequency.

[0036] The timeslot 400 includes a post portion 410 for processing to prepare for communication in the next timeslot. In some examples, the post portion 400 can begin during the receive portion 408. That is, once the wireless component is engaged with the receive portion 408, the processor can begin post-processing in the post portion 410. This post-processing often uses software intervention and therefore can be sized appropriately for worst-case timing. The next timeslot may then start with the respective timeslot settings as discussed above.

[0037] 5 shows an example portion of a communication schedule 500 for proxy broadcasting. For simplicity and brevity, the communication schedule shows communication between a first manager (Mgr1), a second manager (Mgr2), and four clusters (C1-C4).

[0038] In the first portion (first half) of timeslot 1, Mgr1 transmits control data. For example, Mgr1 may transmit the control data on a first channel, such as a first frequency of a TSCH scheme, on which clusters C1 to C4 are listening in the first portion of timeslot 1. While clusters C1 to C3 successfully receive the control data in the first portion of timeslot 1, cluster C4 fails to receive the control data.

[0039] In the second portion (second half) of timeslot 1, Mgr2 transmits control data, which is the same control data transmitted by Mgr1 in the first portion. For example, Mgr2 transmits the control data on the second channel. In some examples, clusters C1-C4 may listen to the second channel to receive control data from Mgr2 if they did not successfully receive data from Mgr1 in the first portion. In this example, C1 is designated as a proxy broadcaster. In the second portion of timeslot 1, C1 may transmit the control data it received from Mgr1 in the first portion. In some examples, C1 may transmit the control data on the second channel, which is the same channel on which Mgr2 transmits control data in the second portion substantially simultaneously (i.e., simultaneous transmission). In some other examples, C1 may transmit control data on a different channel, such as a third channel, and C4 may listen to the third channel in the second portion to receive control data from C1.

[0040] Figure 5 shows a single proxy cluster C1; the same methodology extends to multiple proxies. In the case of multiple proxies, retransmissions in the second half of the time slot can be separated by a single frequency per proxy, or all proxies can transmit simultaneously on the same frequency. In the former case, the number of proxies that can be supported is equal to the number of non-overlapping frequencies available in the radio band used.

[0041] The managers may alternate transmissions in adjacent time slots. Because Mgr1 transmitted in the first portion of time slot 1, Mgr2 may transmit in the first portion of time slot 2. In this example, C1, C3, and C4 successfully receive control data from Mgr2 in the first portion of time slot 2. C2 fails to receive control data in the first portion of time slot 2. In the second portion of time slot 2, Mgr1 transmits control data. Because C1 is designated as the proxy broadcaster, C1 may transmit the control data it received from Mgr1 in the first portion in the second portion of time slot 2. C2, which failed to receive control data in the first portion, may receive control data from Mgr1 in the second portion. In some other examples, C2 may be receiving control data from proxy broadcaster C1.

[0042] Timeslot 3 may operate similarly to timeslot 1. Timeslot 4 may operate similarly to timeslot 1, except that all clusters C1-C4 may successfully receive control data from Mgr2 in the first portion. Nevertheless, C1 may transmit control data in the second portion because it is the designated proxy broadcaster.

[0043] Classifying a radio cluster as a proxy broadcaster, a bad cluster, or neither determines its network schedule and, in terms of radio activity, which radio cluster should receive, transmit, or do nothing during the two parts of the time slot.

[0044] From the example of Figure 5, C2 and C3 are neither proxy broadcasters nor bad clusters, and therefore they tune their reception to manager transmissions only. These clusters C2 and C3 receive in the first part of a time slot, and if reception in the first part fails, receive in the second half of the time slot. However, C4 is a bad cluster, and therefore tunes reception to manager transmissions only in the first part of a time slot, and proxy transmissions in the second part of the time slot if reception in the first part fails. On the other hand, C1 is a proxy broadcaster, and its network schedule consists of receiving from one of the managers in the first part of a time slot, and transmitting in the second part of the time slot if reception in the first part is successful.

[0045] In communication schedule 500, the managers alternate transmissions in the first and second portions. However, even more communication redundancy can be added. Figure 6 shows an example portion of a communication schedule 600 for proxy broadcasting. Here, both managers (Mgr1 and Mgr2) may transmit in the first portion of a time slot, and the managers may alternate transmissions in the second portion of consecutive time slots.

[0046] For example, in the first portion of time slot 1, both managers may transmit control data. In some examples, both managers may transmit on the same channel (i.e., simultaneous transmission). In some other examples, the managers may transmit on different channels. Each designated proxy broadcaster (not shown) may tune its channel reception to prefer transmissions with higher reception probability based on monitoring link reliability per manager per channel in past transmissions.

[0047] In the second portion of timeslot 1, Mgr2 may transmit control data. A designated proxy broadcaster (not shown) may also transmit control data in the second portion of timeslot 2.

[0048] In the first part of timeslot 2, both managers may again transmit control data. In the second part of timeslot 2, Mgr1 may transmit control data because Mgr2 transmitted in the second part of timeslot 1. A designated proxy broadcaster (not shown) may also transmit control data in the second part of timeslot 2.

[0049] Timeslot 3 may operate similarly to timeslot 1, and timeslot 4 may operate similarly to timeslot 2. [Various notes]

[0050] Each of the above non-limiting aspects can stand on its own or can be combined in various permutations or combinations with one or more of the other aspects or other subject matter described herein.

[0051] The above detailed description includes references to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific implementations in which the invention may be practiced. These implementations are also generally referred to as "embodiments." Such embodiments may include elements in addition to those shown or described. However, the inventors also contemplate embodiments in which only elements as shown or described are provided. Furthermore, the inventors also contemplate embodiments using any combination or permutation of the elements (or one or more aspects thereof) as shown or described, with respect to a particular embodiment (or one or more aspects thereof) or with respect to other embodiments (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein.

[0052] In the event of a conflict of usage between this document and any document incorporated by reference, the usage in this document shall prevail.

[0053] In this document, the terms "a" or "an" are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more, regardless of any other instance or usage of "at least one" or "one or more." In this document, the term "or" is used to refer to a non-exclusive "or," such that "A or B" includes "A but not B," "B but not A," and "A and B," unless otherwise indicated. In this document, the terms "comprising" and "in which" are used as the plain English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein." Also, in the following claims, the terms "comprising" and "comprising" are open-ended, i.e., systems, devices, articles, compositions, formulations, or processes that include elements in addition to the elements recited after such terms in a claim are still considered to be within the scope of that claim. Furthermore, in the following claims, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are used merely as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

[0054] Embodiments of the methods described herein may be at least partially machine- or computer-implemented. Some embodiments may include a computer-readable or machine-readable medium encoded with instructions operable to configure an electronic device to perform a method as described in the above embodiments. Implementations of such methods may include microcode, assembly language code, high-level language code, etc. Such code may include computer-readable instructions for performing various methods. The code may form part of a computer program product. Furthermore, in embodiments, the code may be tangibly stored, during execution or at other times, on one or more volatile, non-transitory, or non-volatile tangible computer-readable media. Examples of these tangible computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable optical disks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic cassettes, memory cards or sticks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), etc.

[0055] The above description is intended to be illustrative, not limiting. For example, the above-described embodiments (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Other implementations may be employed by those of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to enable the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be construed as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in fewer than all features of a particular disclosed implementation. Accordingly, the following claims are incorporated herein in the Detailed Description as an example or implementation, with each claim standing on its own as a separate implementation, and it is contemplated that such implementations can be combined with each other in various combinations or permutations. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 100 Wireless Battery Management System (WBMS) 102.1, 102.n Battery Module 104.1,104.n wireless cluster 106 BMS Monitor 108 wireless nodes 110 Microprocessor 112 Network Security Module 114 H-bridge drive circuit 116 H-bridge 120 BMS Controller 122 Dual Network Manager 124 First Manager 126 Second Manager 128 Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 130 Central BMS / Control App 132 Interface Library 134 System Monitor 200 WBMS 202 Dual Network Manager 204.1,204.n wireless cluster 300 WBMS 302 First Manager 304 Second Manager 306 Wireless Cluster 400 time slots 402 Time slot setting 404 Received Part (First Part) 406 Hardware (HW) Buffer 408 Sending Part (Second Part) 410 Post-processing part 500 Communication Schedule for Proxy Broadcast 600 Communication Schedule for Proxy Broadcast

Claims

1. 1. A method for proxy broadcasting in a wireless battery management system, comprising: transmitting, by a first manager, control data to the plurality of battery clusters on a first channel during a first portion of a time slot; receiving, by a first battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters, the control data from the first manager on the first channel during the first portion of the time slot; transmitting, by the first battery cluster, the control data on a second channel to a second battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters during a second portion of the time slot; receiving, by a second battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters, the control data from the first battery cluster during the second portion of the time slot on the second channel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the time slot includes a time slot set portion shared by the first portion and the second portion.

3. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first channel is a first frequency of a time-synchronized channel hopping (TSCH) scheme and the second channel is a second frequency of the TSCH scheme.

4. receiving, by a third battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters, the control data from the first manager on the first channel during the first portion of the time slot; 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the third battery cluster, the control data during the second portion of the time slot.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the third battery cluster transmits the control data on the second channel.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the third battery cluster transmits the control data on a third channel.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by a second manager, the control data to the plurality of battery clusters during the second portion of the time slot.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by a second manager, the control data to the plurality of battery clusters during the first and second portions of the time slot.

9. 1. A wireless battery management system, comprising: a first manager that transmits control data to the plurality of battery clusters on a first channel during a first portion of a time slot; a first battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters transmitting the control data on a second channel to a second battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters during a second portion of the time slot; a second battery cluster that receives the control data from the first battery cluster during the second portion of the time slot on the second channel.

10. The wireless battery management system of claim 9 , wherein the time slot includes a time slot setting portion shared by the first portion and the second portion.

11. 10. The wireless battery management system of claim 9, wherein the first channel is a first frequency of a time synchronized channel hopping (TSCH) scheme and the second channel is a second frequency of the TSCH scheme.

12. 10. The wireless battery management system of claim 9, further comprising a third battery cluster of the plurality of battery clusters that transmits the control data in the second portion of the time slot.

13. The wireless battery management system of claim 12 , wherein the third battery cluster transmits the control data on the second channel.

14. The wireless battery management system of claim 12 , wherein the third battery cluster transmits the control data on a third channel.

15. 10. The wireless battery management system of claim 9, further comprising a second manager that transmits the control data to the plurality of battery clusters during the second portion of the time slot.

16. 10. The wireless battery management system of claim 9, further comprising a second manager that transmits the control data to the plurality of battery clusters during the first and second portions of the time slot.

17. 1. A wireless battery node, comprising: at least one hardware processor; at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, cause the at least one hardware processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving control data from a first manager on a first channel in a first portion of a time slot; transmitting the control data on a second channel to a second battery node in a second portion of the time slot.

18. 20. The wireless battery node of claim 17, wherein the time slot includes a time slot setting portion shared by the first portion and the second portion.

19. 20. The wireless battery node of claim 17, wherein the first channel is a first frequency of a time synchronized channel hopping (TSCH) scheme and the second channel is a second frequency of the TSCH scheme.

20. The operation is 20. The wireless battery node of claim 17, further comprising: controlling switching of an H-bridge to generate at least a portion of a discretized alternating current (AC) waveform based on the control data.

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