Large-Format Li-Ion Battery Pack Control for In-Rush Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery management systems often require external components and do not efficiently manage large-format batteries with varying states of charge, leading to potential damage, reduced lifespan, and inefficiencies in charging and discharging processes.
Innovation Solution
A battery system with internal battery management systems in each pack, allowing flexible configuration as master or slave, coordinated via a communication channel, supports charge balancing, smart discharge, and limp home mode to manage battery cells efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If external battery management systems are used, then battery control and monitoring can be achieved, but system complexity increases and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the battery management system directly into the battery pack structure, combining the controller, sensors, and management functions into a unified integrated unit. This eliminates the need for separate external management systems while maintaining full control and monitoring capabilities, thereby reducing system complexity without compromising reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery management system is designed to autonomously monitor battery state, detect anomalies, and execute control algorithms without requiring external intervention. The system self-manages charging/discharging processes, temperature control, and safety protocols, enabling the battery pack to serve its own management needs and reducing dependency on external systems.
2Ease of operation
If batteries with varying states of charge are connected directly, then power distribution is simplified, but in-rush currents occur causing potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
Before connecting batteries with different states of charge to the power distribution system, the management controller performs preliminary assessment of voltage differences and connects batteries through controlled pathways with current limiting. This preliminary control prevents direct connection of vastly different voltage states, thereby avoiding in-rush currents while maintaining simplified power distribution architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces controlled switching elements and current-limiting circuitry as intermediary components between batteries of varying states of charge. These intermediaries mediate the connection process, allowing power distribution to proceed while preventing harmful in-rush currents from damaging the system.
3Loss of energy
If charging and discharging processes are optimized, then energy efficiency improves, but system control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The management system continuously monitors battery parameters including voltage, current, temperature, and state of charge during charging and discharging operations. Based on this real-time feedback, the controller dynamically adjusts charging rates, discharging limits, and thermal management strategies to optimize energy efficiency while maintaining manageable control complexity through rule-based decision algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery system with a large-format Li-ion battery powers attached equipment by discharging battery cells distributed among a plurality of battery packs. The discharging of the battery cells is controlled in an efficient manner while preserving the expected life of the Li-ion battery cells. Each battery pack internally supports a battery management system and may have identical components, thus supporting an architecture that easily scales to higher power/energy. Battery packs may be added or removed without intervention with a user, where one of battery packs serves as a master battery pack and the remaining battery packs serve as slave battery packs. When the master battery pack is removed, one of the slave battery packs becomes the master battery pack. Charging and discharging of the battery cells is coordinated by the master battery pack with the slave battery packs over a communication channel such as a controller area network (CAN) bus.