Battery Pack Fuse Control Using Pack and System Current Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing overcurrent fuses in battery packs of energy storage systems in vehicles trigger unnecessarily due to insufficient knowledge of system current, leading to inefficient overcurrent management.
Innovation Solution
A processor device is used to determine battery current and system current for each battery pack, comparing these currents with respective thresholds to activate overcurrent fuses only when the battery pack current exceeds its threshold and the system current exceeds the system threshold, allowing independent triggering on both battery pack and system levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the overcurrent threshold is set as a compromise between battery pack level and system level, then the overcurrent fuse protects against both levels of overcurrent, but the overcurrent fuse triggers too easily due to insufficient differentiation between pack-level and system-level overcurrent conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single overcurrent threshold into two separate thresholds: a battery pack level overcurrent threshold and a system level overcurrent threshold. This segmentation allows the control system to differentiate between overcurrent conditions at the pack level versus system level, enabling more precise control logic that determines fuse activation based on the specific level and cause of overcurrent, thereby reducing false triggering while maintaining comprehensive protection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic threshold selection where the applicable overcurrent threshold changes based on operational conditions. The control system dynamically determines whether to apply the pack level threshold or system level threshold based on real-time monitoring of current distribution across parallel battery packs, allowing the system to adapt the protection criteria to the current operational state rather than using a static compromise threshold
2Device complexity
If a single overcurrent threshold is used for all battery packs connected in parallel, then the system structure remains simple, but the overcurrent management becomes inefficient due to inability to account for individual pack conditions and system current distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the overcurrent management system into two distinct threshold structures: pack level thresholds for individual battery pack protection and system level thresholds for overall system protection. This segmented approach maintains reasonable structural complexity while dramatically improving management efficiency by enabling the control system to make informed decisions about fuse activation based on whether the overcurrent condition is isolated to a single pack or affects the entire system
Solution Approach 2:
The dual threshold system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides individual pack protection, system-wide protection, and intelligent discrimination between different overcurrent scenarios. This multi-functionality allows a single control system to handle diverse overcurrent conditions efficiently without requiring separate control mechanisms for each scenario
Data Source
AI summary
A computer system includes a processor device configured to determine battery current of each battery pack of a plurality of parallelly connected battery packs of an energy storage system of a vehicle, determine a system current for all of the plurality of parallelly connected battery packs in the energy storage system, compare the determined battery current with a predetermined battery pack overcurrent threshold for each one of the battery packs, and comparing the determined system current with a system overcurrent threshold, activate an overcurrent fuse of an associated battery pack in response to the determined battery current of the associated battery pack being higher than the battery pack overcurrent threshold, and to activate the overcurrent fuse of at least one of the same battery packs in response to the determined system current being higher than the system overcurrent threshold.