Battery Pack Energy Optimization via Cell Selection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Battery packs in electric vehicles face reduced total energy capacity due to varying charge capacities of individual cells, leading to uneven charging and discharging, with cells of lower capacity limiting the pack's energy output and causing increased stress on remaining cells.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that determine the optimal configuration for a battery pack by estimating charge capacities, computing a total energy metric, and selecting the configuration that maximizes energy output by potentially abandoning cells with lower capacities, while also considering stress factors on remaining cells.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If all battery cells are connected in series to form a battery pack, then the battery pack achieves higher total voltage and energy capacity, but cells with lower charge capacity limit the total energy capacity and cause uneven charging/discharging

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebattery pack total energy capacityVSAvoiduniformity of cell performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes cells with abnormally low charge capacity from the series connection. By extracting these problematic cells from the battery pack configuration, the system eliminates the bottleneck that limits total energy capacity and prevents uneven charging/discharging of remaining cells, thereby resolving the contradiction between maximizing total capacity and maintaining uniform cell performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Quantity of substance

If cells with lower charge capacity are abandoned to increase battery pack energy capacity, then higher overall energy capacity is achieved, but greater stress is placed on remaining battery cells

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebattery pack energy capacityVSAvoidstress on remaining battery cells
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSStress or pressure

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the operational parameters of remaining battery cells by adjusting their charge/discharge current limits and voltage thresholds. This parameter adjustment allows the system to abandon low-capacity cells and increase total energy capacity while simultaneously reducing the stress on remaining cells through optimized current management and protective control strategies.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If battery cells are monitored and managed individually to optimize energy capacity, then maximum energy utilization is achieved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenergy capacity utilizationVSAvoidbattery management system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces complex mechanical monitoring and management systems with an electronic control system that uses computational algorithms to monitor cell voltages, estimate charge capacities, and determine optimal cell configurations. This substitution of electronic intelligence for mechanical complexity achieves maximum energy utilization through automated cell assessment and configuration optimization without requiring cumbersome physical management infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS8918299B2System and method for maximizing a battery pack total energy metric
Publication Date: 2014.12.23 WATTMORE INC
  • US8918299B2 patent drawing
  • US8918299B2 patent drawing
  • US8918299B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A system and method for maximizing a battery pack total energy metric indicative of a total energy of a battery pack is provided. The method includes receiving battery cell charge capacity estimates for all cells in the battery pack, composing battery pack configurations comprising subsets of the totality of battery cells, evaluating a battery pack energy metric for every battery pack configuration that is composed, selecting the battery pack configuration that has the maximum battery pack energy metric, and storing values indicative of the selected battery pack configuration in a memory.