Parallel Battery Pack Power Control for Safe Load Sharing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery management systems fail to prevent overcharge or overdischarge in battery packs with low resistance within parallel multi pack modules, leading to safety and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
A power control apparatus and method that determines pack resistances and available powers of individual battery packs, adjusting total power to match the minimum available power, thereby preventing overcharge or overdischarge by controlling the power distribution within the parallel multi pack module.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pack power is determined by resistance ratio according to circuit theory, then power distribution follows natural circuit behavior, but battery packs with low resistance experience overcharge or overdischarge
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the control parameter from resistance-based power distribution to available power-based power distribution. By determining the available power of each battery pack and using this as the basis for power allocation, the system ensures that no battery pack exceeds its safe operating limits while still utilizing the total power capacity of the parallel multi pack module.
2Reliability
If total power is determined by minimum available power multiplied by number of packs, then safety is improved, but power utilization efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing each battery pack to contribute its specific available power to the total power calculation, rather than uniformly limiting all packs to the minimum available power. This enables battery packs with higher available power to contribute more to the total power output, improving overall power utilization while still ensuring each individual pack operates within its safe limits.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is an apparatus and method for controlling power of a parallel multi pack module. The apparatus determines a minimum available power of first to nth battery packs based on operation characteristic values of the first to nth battery packs, determines a total power of the parallel multi pack module from the minimum available power and a ratio of a summed current value to a maximum current value among the measured current values of the first to nth battery packs, and transmits the determined total power of the parallel multi pack module to the power management unit, and the power management unit controls the power consumed in a load or the power provided to the parallel multi pack module by a charging device so as not to exceed the total power of the parallel multi pack module.