Power transfer system and method

Abstract

To provide a power transmission system and a method.SOLUTION: In a power transmission method, based on a handshake procedure by a power transmission module, a battery module and a feeding / power reception module are determined to perform a charging or discharging operation. A process for performing the charging operation by the battery module includes an adjustment of feeding voltage outputted from the feeding / power reception module, and converting the feeding voltage into charging voltage received by the battery module and performing charging with respect to the battery module. A process for performing the discharging operation by the battery module includes converting discharging voltage outputted from the battery module into request voltage required for the feeding / power reception module and performing feeding with respect to the feeding / power reception module, and the battery module and the feeding / power reception module perform the charging or discharging operation by the maximum power mode, an optimal efficiency mode, or a combination thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power transmission system and method, and more particularly to a power transmission system and method capable of flexibly adjusting its operation mode. [Background technology]

[0002] Current power transmission modules perform charge and discharge operations with a fixed voltage conversion after completing a handshake procedure between the power supply end and the power receiving end. However, due to such limitations, for example, they cannot be applied to systems with different voltage conversion requirements, and there are often problems with poor conversion efficiency due to the voltage difference between both ends of the power transmission module being too large. Summary of the Invention

[0003] An aspect of the present disclosure is a power transmission system, comprising: a power transmission module, a power supply / receiving module coupled to the power transmission module, and a battery module including at least one battery unit, coupled to the power transmission module, and used for performing charging or discharging operations by the power transmission module and the power supply / receiving module, when the battery module performs a charging operation, the power transmission module is used to adjust a power supply voltage output from the power supply / receiving module based on handshake information and convert the power supply voltage into a charging voltage received by the battery module, thereby charging the at least one battery unit, when the battery module performs a discharging operation, the power transmission module is used to convert a discharge voltage output from the battery module into a required voltage required by the power supply / receiving module, thereby supplying power to the power supply / receiving module, and the battery module and the power supply / receiving module perform charging or discharging operations in a maximum power mode, an optimal efficiency mode, or a combination thereof.

[0004] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a power transmission method, which is applied to a power transmission module, and includes determining that a battery module and a power supplying / receiving module perform a charging or discharging operation based on a handshake procedure by the power transmission module, the step of the battery module performing a charging operation includes adjusting a power supply voltage output from the power supplying / receiving module and converting the power supply voltage into a charging voltage received by the battery module to charge at least one battery unit of the battery module, the step of the battery module performing a discharging operation includes converting a discharge voltage output from the battery module into a required voltage required by the power supplying / receiving module to supply power to the power supplying / receiving module, and the battery module and the power supplying / receiving module perform the charging or discharging operation in a maximum power mode, an optimal efficiency mode, or a combination thereof.

[0005] In summary, the power transmission system disclosed herein has the advantages of regulating power transmission between a battery module and a power supply / receiving module using a power transmission module, improving power conversion efficiency, battery charging efficiency, and battery discharge durability, and being applicable to most systems. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram illustrating a power transfer system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a power transfer method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 3 is a flow diagram showing one operation of the power transfer method in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a flow diagram showing one operation of the power transfer method in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] 3 is a flow diagram showing one operation of the power transfer method in FIG. 2. [Figure 6]3 is a flow diagram showing one operation of the power transfer method in FIG. 2. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram showing a power transmission system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram showing a power transmission system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] The following detailed description is given with reference to the drawings, showing examples. However, the specific examples described are only for the purpose of interpreting the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The descriptions of the structure and operation are not intended to limit the procedure of execution. Any structure formed by a new combination of elements, or a device having an equivalent effect, are all included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0008] Terms used throughout the specification and claims generally have the ordinary meanings used in this field, the context and particular context of this disclosure, unless otherwise specified.

[0009] Additionally, as used herein, "coupled" or "connected" may refer to two or more elements being in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, or in indirect physical or electrical contact with each other, and may refer to two or more elements operating or operative with each other.

[0010] Please refer to Fig. 1, which illustrates a power transmission system 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the power transmission system 100 includes a power transmission module 10, a power supply / receiving module 20, and a battery module 30. Specifically, the power transmission module 10 is coupled between the power supply / receiving module 20 and the battery module 30 as a switching device between the power supply / receiving module 20 and the battery module 30, and contributes to power transmission between the power supply / receiving module 20 and the battery module 30.

[0011] In some embodiments, the power transmission module 10 includes a voltage conversion circuit 101 and a processing circuit 102. The voltage conversion circuit 101 is used for voltage conversion. The processing circuit 102 is coupled to the voltage conversion circuit 101, the power supply / receiving module 20, and the battery module 30, and is used to perform a handshake procedure with the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 to obtain handshake information (e.g., the operable power range, voltage range, and current range of each of the power transmission module 10, the power supply / receiving module 20, and the battery module 30), control the voltage conversion circuit 101 according to the handshake information, and transmit a control request (not shown) to the power supply / receiving module 20 and the battery module 30.

[0012] It should be understood that the voltage conversion circuit 101 may be implemented by a buck converter, a boost converter, a buck-boost converter, a flyback converter, combinations thereof, etc., and the processing circuit 102 may be implemented by one or more central processing units (CPUs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), microprocessors, systems on chips (SoCs), or other suitable processing units.

[0013] In some embodiments, the battery module 30 includes a battery management unit 301, at least one switch circuit 302, a plurality of battery units 303, and a control switch 304. As shown in FIG. 1, the battery management unit 301 is coupled to the processing circuit 102, the switch circuit 302, the plurality of battery units 303, and the control switch 304. The switch circuit 302 is coupled to the plurality of battery units 303, and the control switch 304 is coupled between the plurality of battery units 303 and the voltage conversion circuit 101. It should be understood that, for convenience and simplification of the description, the connection structure between the switch circuit 302 and the plurality of battery units 303 in FIG. 1 is omitted. Although not directly shown in FIG. 1, the battery management unit 301 may be directly coupled to the plurality of battery units 303 and the switch circuit 302. In addition, the number of the plurality of battery units 303 is not limited to the number (i.e., two) shown in FIG. 1.

[0014] The battery management unit 301 may be used to control the switch circuit 302 to change the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 based on the control request output from the processing circuit 102, so as to adjust the battery voltage Vbat. Specifically, the battery units 303 may be all connected in series or all connected in parallel, or may be partially connected in series and partially connected in parallel. It should be understood that the battery voltage Vbat is generated based on the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303. In other words, different series-parallel structures of the battery units 303 correspond to different battery voltages Vbat. For example, the series-parallel structures of the battery units 303 include at least 5-series 4-parallel, 10-series 2-parallel, and 20-series 1-parallel, and the battery voltage Vbat corresponding to the 5-series 4-parallel structure may be 20V (volts), the battery voltage Vbat corresponding to the 10-series 2-parallel structure may be 40V, and the battery voltage Vbat corresponding to the 20-series 1-parallel structure may be 80V. It should be understood that the 5 in series 4 in parallel structure indicates that the battery module 30 has four sets of battery strings connected in parallel, and each set of battery strings includes five battery units 303 connected in series. Other series-parallel structure configurations may be inferred in this manner, and will not be described herein.

[0015] Further, the battery management unit 301 may be used to receive battery information of each of the battery units 303 from the battery units 303. Specifically, the battery information may include information such as battery voltage, battery temperature, etc. In addition, the battery management unit 301 may turn on or off the connection line between the battery units 303 and the voltage conversion circuit 101 through the control switch 304. The processing circuit 102 may control the control switch 304 through the battery management unit 301 to determine to turn on the connection line between the battery units 303 and the voltage conversion circuit 101 after the voltage conversion. That is, when the voltage conversion is not performed, the processing circuit 102 may turn off the connection line between the battery units 303 and the voltage conversion circuit 101 through the control switch 304. It should be understood that in another embodiment, the control switch 304 in the battery module 30 may be omitted.

[0016] In some embodiments, the power supply / receiving module 20 may be a power supplier and may be used to provide a power supply voltage Vsup to the power transmission module 10 and adjust the magnitude of the power supply voltage Vsup based on a control request output from the processing circuit 102. As shown in FIG. 1, the power transmission module 10 may convert the power supply voltage Vsup into a charging voltage Vcha based on the magnitude of the battery voltage Vbat of the battery module 30, and charge the multiple battery units 303.

[0017] In another embodiment, the power supply / receiving module 20 may be an electronic device (e.g., a home appliance, an electric transportation tool, etc.) and may require a required voltage Vreq. As shown in FIG. 1 , the battery module 30 may output a discharge voltage Vdis to the power transmission module 10 according to a battery voltage Vbat. The power transmission module 10 may convert the discharge voltage Vdis to the required voltage Vreq so as to contribute to the normal operation of the power supply / receiving module 20.

[0018] The operation of the power transmission system 100 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2. Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a flow diagram illustrating a power transmission method 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The power transmission method 200 may be performed by the power transmission module 10 in FIG. 1. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 2, the power transmission method 200 includes steps S201 to S206.

[0019] In step S201, the power transmission module 10 performs a handshake procedure with the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 to obtain handshake information. For example, the processing circuit 102 in the power transmission module 10 may exchange information with the battery management unit 301 in the battery module 30 and a control circuit (not shown) in the power supply / receiving module 20.

[0020] In step S202, the power transmission module 10 determines, based on the handshake information, that the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 perform charging or discharging operations in a maximum power mode, an optimal efficiency mode, or a combination thereof.

[0021] In some embodiments, the power transmission module 10 determines that the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 perform charging operation in the maximum power mode, and executes step S203. In step S203, the power transmission module 10 controls the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 to perform charging operation in the maximum power mode. It should be understood that the phrase "the power transmission module controls the power supply / receiving module and / or the battery module" in the present specification means that the power transmission module can indirectly control the power supply / receiving module and / or the battery module by transmitting a control request to the power supply / receiving module and / or the battery module through its internal processing circuit. In practice, the power supply / receiving module receives the control request through its internal control circuit and performs a related operation based on the control request, while the battery module receives the control request through the battery management unit and performs a related operation based on the control request. The charging operation of the battery module 30 in the maximum power mode will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 3.

[0022] Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a flow diagram showing a charging operation in maximum power mode of the battery module 30 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, step S203 includes sub-steps S301 to S303. In sub-step S301, the power transmission module 10 determines a power supply voltage Vsup output from the power supply / receiving module 20 based on the maximum power value at which the power transmission module 10 and the battery module 30 can operate. As an example, the maximum current value that can be transmitted by a transmission cable (e.g., USB Type-C (Universal Serial Bus Type-C)) coupled between the power transmission module 10 and the power supply / receiving module 20 is 5A (amperes), but the voltage range that can be output from the power supply / receiving module 20 is 5 to 48V. In this case, the maximum power value of the power supply / receiving module 20 is 240W (watts). If it is determined that both the power transmission module 10 and the battery module 30 can load a power value of 240 W, the power transmission module 10 may control the processing circuit 102 to output a power supply voltage Vsup of 48 V from the power supply / receiving module 20, thereby enabling the power supply / receiving module 20 to output a maximum power value (e.g., 240 W).

[0023] In sub-step S302, the power transmission module 10 determines the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 of the battery module 30 based on the power supply voltage Vsup, so that the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup is maintained at or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value. For example, the preset voltage difference value is 2V. When the battery units 303 have a 10-series 2-parallel structure (corresponding battery voltage Vbat is 40V), the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha (e.g., 30-42V) received by the battery module 30 and the power supply voltage Vsup (e.g., 48V) may be as close as possible to 2V. Thus, the power transmission module 10 notifies the battery management unit 301 to adjust the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 to a 10-series 2-parallel structure.

[0024] In sub-step S303, the power transmission module 10 converts the power supply voltage Vsup to a charging voltage Vcha to charge the battery units 303. As an example, the power transmission module 10 converts the power supply voltage Vsup (e.g., 48V) to the charging voltage Vcha by the voltage conversion circuit 101 in FIG. 1. It should be understood that the charging voltage Vcha may be a non-constant voltage (e.g., 30-42V) that changes based on the change in power during charging of the battery units 303. It should be noted that the voltage conversion circuit 101 has the best conversion efficiency when the voltage difference between the input voltage and the output voltage is a preset voltage difference value (e.g., the input voltage is 2V higher than the output voltage). Since the power supply / receiving module 20 can output the maximum power value (i.e., step S301) and the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup can be as close as possible to the preset voltage difference value (i.e., step S302), the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 and the charging efficiency of the battery module 30 can be improved.

[0025] In some embodiments, the power transmission module 10 determines that the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 perform a charging operation in the optimal efficiency mode, and executes step S204. As shown in Fig. 2, in step S204, the power transmission module 10 controls the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 to perform a charging operation in the optimal efficiency mode. Hereinafter, the charging operation of the battery module 30 in the optimal efficiency mode will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 4.

[0026] Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a flow diagram showing a charging operation in an optimal efficiency mode of the battery module 30 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, step S204 includes sub-steps S401 to S403. In sub-step S401, the power transmission module 10 determines a series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 of the battery module 30 based on the operable power range, voltage range, and current range of each of the power supply / receiving module 20, the power transmission module 10, and the battery module 30. For example, the power supply voltage Vsup range output from the power supply / receiving module 20 may be 5 to 48V, and the battery voltage Vbat of the multiple battery units 303 may be 20, 40, or 80V. Thus, the power transmission module 10 notifies the battery management unit 301 to adjust the series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 to 10 series 2 parallel (corresponding battery voltage Vbat is 40V), and performs sub-step S402.

[0027] In sub-step S402, the power transmission module 10 dynamically adjusts the power supply voltage Vsup output from the power supply / receiving module 20 to maintain the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha received by the battery module 30 and the power supply voltage Vsup at a preset voltage difference value. For example, when the battery units 303 are of a 10-series 2-parallel structure, the charging voltage Vcha varies in a range of about 30-42V during charging. Thus, the power transmission module 10 continuously adjusts the magnitude of the power supply voltage Vsup based on the magnitude of the charging voltage Vcha during charging to maintain the voltage difference between the power supply voltage Vsup and the charging voltage Vcha at 2V (i.e., the preset voltage difference value). In some practical applications, the power supply voltage Vsup (e.g., 32-44V) is continuously adjusted to be maintained 2V higher than the charging voltage Vcha.

[0028] In sub-step S403, the power transmission module 10 converts the power supply voltage Vsup into a charging voltage Vcha to charge the battery units 303. It should be understood that when the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup is maintained at a preset voltage difference value, the voltage conversion circuit 101 is continuously operated at an optimal operating point (i.e., the voltage difference between its input voltage and output voltage is the preset voltage difference value). In this way, the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 is always maintained at the optimal conversion efficiency, and the charging efficiency of the battery module 30 is also improved.

[0029] In some embodiments, the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 perform charging operations in a combination of a maximum power mode and an optimal efficiency mode (described in detail below with reference to several practical applications). In one practical application, the preset voltage difference value is 2V (e.g., the power supply voltage Vsup needs to be 2V higher than the charging voltage Vcha), and the charging voltage Vcha varies in a range of 30-42V, but the maximum value of the power supply voltage Vsup is 36V. In this case, when the charging voltage Vcha is lower than 34V, the power transmission module 10 can control the power supply / receiving module 20 to maintain the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup at the preset voltage difference value. When the charging voltage Vcha is higher than 34V, the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup cannot be maintained at the preset voltage difference value. As a result, the power transmission module 10 controls the power supply / receiving module 20 to output at the maximum power supply voltage Vsup (corresponding to an output at the maximum power value) so as to bring the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup as close as possible to the preset voltage difference value.

[0030] In another practical application, the preset voltage difference value is 2V (for example, the power supply voltage Vsup needs to be 2V higher than the charging voltage Vcha), the change range of the charging voltage Vcha is 15-21V, but the range of the power supply voltage Vsup is 20-36V. In this case, if the charging voltage Vcha is lower than 18V, the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup cannot be maintained at 2V (i.e., the preset voltage difference value). Therefore, the power transmission module 10 controls the power supply / receiving module 20 to output the minimum power supply voltage Vsup (i.e., 20V) so that the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup is as close as possible to the preset voltage difference value. If the charging voltage Vcha is higher than 18V, the power transmission module 10 controls the power supply / receiving module 20 to maintain the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup at the preset voltage difference value.

[0031] In another practical application, the preset voltage difference value is 2V (for example, the power supply voltage Vsup needs to be 2V higher than the charging voltage Vcha), the maximum current value that the transmission cable can withstand is 5A, the range of the power supply voltage Vsup is 5~36V, but the maximum power value that the voltage conversion circuit 101 can convert is 150W. In this case, the power transmission module 10 adjusts the multiple battery units 303 to a 10 series 2 parallel structure (corresponding battery voltage Vbat is 40V) based on the above information, because when the multiple battery units 303 are 5 series 4 parallel structure, they cannot perform charging operation in maximum power mode, and when they are 20 series 1 parallel structure, they cannot perform charging operation in optimal efficiency mode. When the series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 is 10 series 2 parallel, the change range of the charging voltage Vcha may be 24~42V. During charging of the battery module 30, if the charging voltage Vcha is lower than 28V, the power transmission module 10 controls the power supply / receiving module 20 to output a power supply voltage Vsup of 30V. If the charging voltage Vcha exceeds 28V, the power transmission module 10 controls the power supply / receiving module 20 to gradually increase the power supply voltage Vsup from 30V until the power supply voltage Vsup increases to 36V, so that the voltage difference between the power supply voltage Vsup and the charging voltage Vcha is maintained at a preset voltage difference value. It should be understood that when the power supply voltage Vsup is 30V, the power supply / receiving module 20 outputs a current of 5A and maintains its output power at 150W (equivalent to outputting the maximum power value that can be converted by the voltage conversion circuit 101, i.e., improving the charging efficiency). If the power supply voltage Vsup exceeds 30V, the power supply / receiving module 20 will correspondingly reduce the output current value, so that its output power is still maintained at 150W (i.e., maintain the charging speed and improve the conversion efficiency).

[0032] As can be seen from the above practical applications, the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 cannot always be maintained at the optimum conversion efficiency during charging of the battery module 30. Therefore, during charging of the battery module 30, the power transmission module 10 can be switched into different operation modes according to the situation (i.e., operated in a combination of the maximum power mode and the optimum efficiency mode) so as to maximize the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 and the charging efficiency of the battery module 30.

[0033] In some embodiments, the power transmission module 10 determines that the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 perform a discharge operation in the maximum power mode, and executes step S205. As shown in Fig. 2, in step S205, the power transmission module 10 controls the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 to perform a discharge operation in the maximum power mode. Hereinafter, the discharge operation of the battery module 30 in the maximum power mode will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 5.

[0034] Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a flow diagram showing a discharge operation of the battery module 30 in maximum power mode according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, step S205 includes sub-steps S501 to S502. In sub-step S501, the power transmission module 10 determines a series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 of the battery module 30 based on the maximum power value that the battery module 30, the power transmission module 10, and the power supply / receiving module 20 can operate, and causes the battery module 30 to output a discharge voltage Vdis. For example, the maximum current value that can be transmitted by the transmission cable (e.g., USB Type-C) coupled between the power transmission module 10 and the battery module 30 is 5A, and the battery voltage Vbat by the multiple battery units 303 may be 20, 40, or 80V. In this case, the maximum power value of the battery module 30 is 400W. When it is determined that the power transmission module 10 and the power supply / receiving module 20 can also load a power value of 400 W, the power transmission module 10 notifies the battery management unit 301 to adjust the series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 to 20 series 1 parallel via the processing circuit 102, so that the battery module 30 outputs a battery voltage Vbat of 80 V as a discharge voltage Vdis. In another example, the maximum loadable power value of the power transmission module 10 (e.g., 240 W) is smaller than the maximum power value of the battery module 30 (e.g., 400 W). Thus, the power transmission module 10 determines the series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 based on the maximum loadable power value of the power transmission module 10, so that the output power value of the battery module 30 is close to but does not exceed the maximum loadable power value of the power transmission module 10.

[0035] In sub-step S502, the power transmission module 10 converts the discharge voltage Vdis to a required voltage Vreq required for the power supply / receiving module 20, and supplies power to the power supply / receiving module 20. As an example, the required voltage Vreq is 48 V. Compared with a system in which the battery voltage Vbat cannot be converted, the power transmission system 100 can significantly improve the output power of the battery module 30 to meet the requirements of the power supply / receiving module 20.

[0036] In some embodiments, the power transmission module 10 determines that the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 perform a discharge operation in the optimal efficiency mode, and executes step S206. As shown in Fig. 2, in step S206, the power transmission module 10 controls the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 to perform a discharge operation in the optimal efficiency mode. Hereinafter, the discharge operation of the battery module 30 in the optimal efficiency mode will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 6.

[0037] Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a flow diagram showing a discharge operation in an optimal efficiency mode of the battery module 30 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, step S206 includes sub-steps S601 to S602. In sub-step S601, the power transmission module 10 determines a series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 of the battery module 30 based on the operable power ranges, voltage ranges, and current ranges of the power supply / receiving module 20, the power transmission module 10, and the battery module 30, so that the voltage difference between the discharge voltage Vdis output from the battery module 30 and the required voltage Vreq required for the power supply / receiving module 20 is maintained at or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value. For example, the required voltage Vreq is 48V, and the preset voltage difference value is 2V (i.e., the discharge voltage Vdis is 2V higher than the required voltage Vreq). When the multiple battery units 303 have a 10 series 2 configuration (corresponding battery voltage Vbat is 40V), the battery module 30 can output the battery voltage Vbat of 40V as the discharge voltage Vdis. Thus, the power transmission module 10 notifies the battery management unit 301 to adjust the series-parallel configuration of the multiple battery units 303 to a 10 series 2 configuration via the processing circuit 102, so that the voltage difference between the discharge voltage Vdis and the required voltage Vreq (i.e., -8V) is as close to 2V as possible.

[0038] In sub-step S602, the power transmission module 10 converts the discharge voltage Vdis into a required voltage Vreq to supply power to the power supply / receiving module 20. It should be understood that, since the voltage difference between the discharge voltage Vdis and the required voltage Vreq (i.e., the input voltage and the output voltage of the voltage conversion circuit 101) is maintained or made as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value, the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 and the discharge durability of the battery module 30 are improved.

[0039] In some embodiments, the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 perform discharge operations in a combination of maximum power mode and optimal efficiency mode. In some practical applications, when determining the series-parallel structure of multiple battery units 303, the power transmission module 10 considers the maximum power value that each of the battery module 30, the power transmission module 10, and the power supply / receiving module 20 can operate, and also maintains or makes the voltage difference between the discharge voltage Vdis output from the battery module 30 and the required voltage Vreq required for the power supply / receiving module 20 to a preset voltage difference value or as close as possible to the preset voltage difference value. In this way, in addition to enabling the battery module 30 to maintain a specific output power, the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 can be improved as much as possible.

[0040] In the above embodiment, after the series-parallel structure of the plurality of battery units 303 is determined, the power transmission module 10 does not adjust the series-parallel structure of the plurality of battery units 303 again in the subsequent charging or discharging operation. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In another embodiment, although the series-parallel structure of the plurality of battery units 303 has already been determined, the power transmission module 10 can still adjust the series-parallel structure of the plurality of battery units 303 according to the situation in the charging or discharging operation of the battery module 30, so as to maintain or make the voltage difference between the input voltage and the output voltage of the voltage conversion circuit 101 to the preset voltage difference value as close as possible. Hereinafter, several practical applications will be described in detail as examples.

[0041] In one practical application, a charging operation is performed on the battery module 30. The preset voltage difference value is 2V (for example, the power supply voltage Vsup is 2V higher than the charging voltage Vcha), the maximum current value that the transmission cable can withstand is 5A, the range of the power supply voltage Vsup is 5-36V, and the maximum power value of the power supply / receiving module 20 is 80W. The multiple battery units 303 of the battery module 30 are switched in three series-parallel structures (including 3-series 4-parallel, 6-series 2-parallel, and 12-series 1-parallel), and the corresponding charging voltage Vcha range of the 3-series 4-parallel structure is 7.2-12.6V, the corresponding charging voltage Vcha range of the 6-series 2-parallel structure is 14.4-25.2V, and the corresponding charging voltage Vcha range of the 12-series 1-parallel structure is 28.8-50.4V. Based on the above information, the power transmission module 10 first determines to adjust the multiple battery units 303 to a 12-series 1-parallel structure. During charging of the battery module 30, the charging voltage Vcha gradually increases from 28.8V, and the power supply voltage Vsup is controlled to correspondingly gradually increase from 30.8V, so that the power supply voltage Vsup is maintained 2V higher than the charging voltage Vcha. When the charging voltage Vcha reaches 34V, the power transmission module 10 controls the battery module 30 to adjust the plurality of battery units 303 to a 6-series 2-like structure, so that the voltage difference between the power supply voltage Vsup and the charging voltage Vcha is maintained at 2V. After the plurality of battery units 303 are adjusted to a 6-series 2-like structure, the charging voltage Vcha correspondingly decreases to 17V. The power transmission module 10 continues to charge the battery module 30, and the charging voltage Vcha gradually increases from 17V to 25.2V (i.e., the plurality of battery units 303 are fully charged), and the power supply voltage Vsup correspondingly increases from 19V to 27.2V. As can be seen, by adjusting the series-parallel structure of the multiple battery units 303 while charging the battery module 30, the power supply voltage Vsup is always maintained 2V higher than the charging voltage Vcha, and the power supply / receiving module 20 can continuously output the maximum power value. In this way, the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 and the charging speed of the battery module 30 are improved.

[0042] In another practical application, the battery module 30 performs a discharge operation. The preset voltage difference value is 2V (for example, the discharge voltage Vdis is 2V higher than the required voltage Vreq), the power supply / receiving module 20 requires a voltage of 9V (i.e., the required voltage Vreq) and a power of 27W, and the maximum current value that the transmission cable connected between the battery module 30 and the power transmission module 10 can withstand is 3A. The battery units 303 of the battery module 30 are switched in three series-parallel structures (including 3-series 4-parallel, 6-series 2-parallel, and 12-series 1-parallel). Based on the above information, the power transmission module 10 first determines to adjust the battery units 303 to a 3-series 4-parallel structure (corresponding discharge voltage Vdis range is 7.2-12.6V). During the discharge of the battery module 30, the discharge voltage Vdis gradually decreases from 12.6V. It should be understood that, assuming that the conversion efficiency of the power transmission module 10 is 95%, when the discharge voltage Vdis is lower than 9.47V, the battery module 30 (or the power transmission module 10) cannot output a power value of 27W due to the limitation of the transmission cable. Therefore, when the discharge voltage Vdis decreases to 9.47V, the power transmission module 10 requires the battery module 30 to adjust the plurality of battery units 303 into a 6-series 2-parallel structure. After the plurality of battery units 303 are adjusted into a 6-series 2-parallel structure, the discharge voltage Vdis correspondingly increases to 18.94V, so that the battery module 30 (or the power transmission module 10) can output a power value of 27W. As can be seen, by adjusting the series-parallel structure of the plurality of battery units 303 during the discharge of the battery module 30, the power transmission module 10 can continuously operate with an optimal conversion efficiency and continuously meet the requirements of the power supply / receiving module 20.

[0043] 3 and 4, in the above embodiment, the power transmission module 10 charges the battery module 30 by outputting the charging voltage Vcha from the voltage conversion circuit 101, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In another embodiment, the power transmission module 10 further includes a voltage-current conversion circuit (not shown), and can charge the battery module 30 by converting the power supply voltage Vsup into a charging current (not shown) and outputting it using the voltage-current conversion circuit.

[0044] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the battery management unit 301 can adjust the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 by the switch circuit 302, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 cannot be adjusted, and the switch circuit 302 in the battery module 30 may be omitted. It should be understood that in an embodiment in which the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 cannot be adjusted, the operation related to the adjustment of the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 is omitted. For example, the series-parallel structure of the battery units 303 is fixed as 5 series 4 parallel (corresponding battery voltage Vbat is 20V), and the change range of the charging voltage Vcha in this case is 12 to 21V. When performing charging operation in the maximum power mode, the power transmission module 10 still determines the power supply voltage Vsup based on the maximum power value that the power supply / receiving module 20, the power transmission module 10, and the battery module 30 can all operate. When performing charging operation in the optimal efficiency mode, the power transfer module 10 still controls the power supply voltage Vsup to maintain the voltage difference between the charging voltage Vcha and the power supply voltage Vsup at a preset voltage difference value. Other operations may be inferred in this way and will not be described here.

[0045] In the above embodiment, the processing circuit 102 in the power transmission module 10 considers the maximum power value and / or the operable voltage, current and power range of each of the three modules (i.e., the power transmission module 10, the power supply / receiving module 20 and the battery module 30) when determining the charging voltage Vcha, the discharging voltage Vdis and / or the power supply voltage Vsup, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. It should be understood that in some practical applications, the processing circuit 102 considers the operation of the operable voltage, current and power range of the three modules, and further considers the withstandable voltage, current and power range of the multiple transmission cables connected between the three modules. Also, in the above embodiment, the preset voltage difference value is a fixed value during charging and discharging, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the preset voltage difference value is a variable value during charging and discharging.

[0046] In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the power transmission module 10, the power supply / receiving module 20 and the battery module 30 are installed independently, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the installation of the power transmission module 10 can be changed according to requirements. Hereinafter, different installations of the power transmission module 10 will be described in conjunction with Figs. 7 and 8.

[0047] Please refer to Fig. 7, which is a structural schematic diagram showing a power transmission system 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 7, the power transmission module 10 is provided in (or integrated with) the power supply / receiving module 20. Other installations and operations of the power transmission system 700 are the same or similar to those of the above embodiments, and will not be described here.

[0048] Please refer to Fig. 8, which is a structural schematic diagram showing a power transmission system 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 8, the power transmission module 10 is provided in (or integrated with) the battery module 30. Although the power transmission module 10 and the battery management unit 301 are provided independently in Fig. 8, it should be understood that the power transmission module 10 may be integrated with the battery management unit 301. Other installations and operations of the power transmission system 800 are the same or similar to those of the above embodiments, and will not be described here.

[0049] As can be seen from the above embodiments of the present disclosure, the power transmission system 100 of the present disclosure adjusts the power transmission between the battery module 30 and the power supply / receiving module 20 using the power transmission module 10, improves the power conversion efficiency, the battery charging efficiency, and the battery discharge durability, and has the advantage of being applicable to most systems.

[0050] Although the present disclosure has disclosed the embodiments as described above, the present disclosure is not limited to these, and those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure is based on the contents specified in the following claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 10 Power transmission module 20 Power supply / receiving module 30 Battery Module 100 700 800 Power transmission system 101 Voltage conversion circuit 102 Processing circuit 200 Power transmission method 301 Battery Management Unit 302 Switch Circuit 303 Battery Unit 304 Control Switch Vsup Power supply voltage Vreq Required voltage Vcha charging voltage Vdis Discharge voltage Vbat Battery voltage S201~S206, S301~S303, S401~S403, S501~S502, S601~S602 Process

Claims

1. A power transmission module; an electronic device coupled to the power transfer module and configured to request a requested voltage; a battery module including at least one battery unit, the battery module being coupled to the power transmission module and configured to perform a discharging operation with the electronic device through the power transmission module; Equipped with When the battery module performs a discharging operation, the power transmission module converts the discharge voltage to a required voltage and supplies it to the electronic device by adjusting the series-parallel structure of the at least one battery unit according to handshake information so that a voltage difference between a discharge voltage output by the battery module and the required voltage is maintained or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value; The battery module and the electronic device are connected to a power transfer system that operates to discharge in a maximum power mode or an optimum efficiency mode.

2. 2. The power transmission system of claim 1, wherein when the battery module performs a discharging operation in the maximum power mode, the power transmission module determines a series-parallel structure of the at least one battery unit based on a maximum power value at which the battery module, the power transmission module, and the electronic device can all be operated, so that the voltage difference between the discharge voltage and the required voltage is maintained at or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value.

3. 2. The power transmission system of claim 1, wherein when the battery module performs a discharging operation in the optimal efficiency mode, the power transmission module determines a series-parallel structure of the at least one battery unit based on the operable power range, voltage range and current range of each of the electronic device, the power transmission module and the battery module, thereby maintaining the voltage difference between the discharge voltage and the required voltage at or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value.

4. 2. The power transmission system of claim 1, wherein the power transmission module includes a voltage conversion circuit used for voltage conversion, and a processing circuit used for performing a handshake procedure with the battery module and the electronic device to obtain the handshake information, controlling the voltage conversion circuit based on the handshake information, and transmitting a control request to the electronic device and the battery module.

5. The power transfer system of claim 1 , wherein the power transfer module is provided independently or within the battery module or the electronic device.

6. A power transmission method applied to a power transmission module, comprising: The battery module determines to perform a discharge operation with an electronic device based on a handshake procedure by the power transmission module, the electronic device being configured to request a required voltage; The battery module includes at least one battery unit and is coupled to the power transmission module and configured to perform a discharging operation with the electronic device through the power transmission module; The step of discharging the battery module includes: Adjusting the series-parallel structure of the at least one battery unit based on handshake information obtained from a handshake procedure so that a voltage difference between a discharge voltage output by the battery module and the required voltage is maintained or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value; converting the discharge voltage into a required voltage and supplying the required voltage to the electronic device; The battery module and the electronic device perform a power transfer operation in a maximum power mode or an optimal efficiency mode.

7. The step of discharging the battery module in the maximum power mode includes:

7. The power transfer method according to claim 6, further comprising: determining a series-parallel structure of the at least one battery unit based on a maximum power value that each of the battery module, the power transfer module, and the electronic device can operate, so as to maintain or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value a voltage difference between the discharge voltage and the required voltage.

8. The step of discharging the battery module in the optimal efficiency mode includes:

7. The power transfer method of claim 6, further comprising: determining a series-parallel structure of the at least one battery unit based on an operable power range, voltage range and current range of each of the electronic device, the power transfer module and the battery module, thereby maintaining a voltage difference between the discharge voltage and the required voltage at or as close as possible to a preset voltage difference value.

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