Battery Pack Voltage Balancing Across Different SOH States
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of managing battery packs with varying state of health (SOH) in eco-friendly vehicles leads to voltage differences, which can cause accidents and increase management costs due to specialized classes of battery packs.
Innovation Solution
A battery control apparatus and method that adjusts voltage differences between battery packs using converters and processors to identify and balance power based on state of charge (SOC) and health (SOH), employing active and passive balancing techniques to reduce deviations and set optimal power modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If battery packs with different state of health are used together, then the cost of managing battery packs is reduced, but voltage differences between battery packs increase causing safety accidents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing individualized SOC operation regions for each battery pack based on its specific SOH characteristics. Each battery pack is assigned a customized usable SOC range (e.g., first battery pack: 10%-90%, second battery pack: 20%-80%) that reflects its health status, allowing heterogeneous battery packs to be managed with tailored parameters rather than uniform standards, thus enabling cost-effective mixed battery management while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of usable SOC range dynamically based on SOH. By adjusting the operation region parameters according to each battery pack's health state, the system adapts the working conditions to match the actual capabilities of each pack, preventing voltage deviations and safety issues while allowing battery packs of different classes to be used together.
2Reliability
If battery packs of the same class are used together, then voltage differences between battery packs are reduced improving safety, but the cost of managing battery packs increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by creating a unified management framework that can handle both homogeneous and heterogeneous battery packs. The system provides a universal SOC operation region setting mechanism that works across different battery pack types and SOH levels, enabling a single management system to serve multiple battery classes without requiring separate specialized management systems for each class.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the SOC operation space into multiple customized regions based on individual battery pack SOH characteristics. By dividing the overall SOC range into pack-specific usable regions, the system creates manageable segments that can be independently controlled, allowing heterogeneous battery packs to operate safely within their respective segments while being managed under a unified system.
3Reliability
If voltage difference between battery packs is reduced through balancing operation, then safety is improved, but balancing time increases affecting productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining customized SOC operation regions for each battery pack before balancing operations begin. By establishing these safe operating boundaries in advance based on SOH characteristics, the system prevents voltage deviations from occurring in the first place, reducing the need for extensive post-balancing operations and thereby shortening overall balancing time while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that monitor the SOC and voltage differences between battery packs in real-time. The system continuously adjusts charging/discharging strategies based on feedback from voltage measurements and SOH status, enabling dynamic optimization of balancing operations that maintains safety while minimizing balancing time through adaptive control.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for controlling a battery and a method thereof are disclosed. The apparatus includes a battery having a plurality of battery packs, a converter, a memory, and a processor. The processor distinguishes a plurality of state of charge (SOC) regions for using each of the plurality of battery packs. The processor further identifies a voltage difference between a first battery pack among the plurality of battery packs and a second battery pack among the plurality of battery packs when an SOC of each of the plurality of battery packs is included in an operation region in which each of the plurality of battery packs is usable among the plurality of SOC regions. The processor also adjusts the voltage difference between the first battery pack and the second battery pack.