Booster Unit Charging System for High-C Rate Battery Cells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lithium ion batteries face limitations in charging rates, as existing technologies struggle to provide efficient high-C rate charging across a wide range of state of charge (SoC), leading to longer charging durations and reduced performance.
Innovation Solution
A charging system comprising a main charging unit and a booster unit, which provides a high-C charging current of at least 4 C over 10-70% SoC range for battery cells with metalloid-based anodes, such as Si, Ge, and Sn-based anode active materials, and allows user-defined preferences for charging duration and target SoC, enabling power boosts during specific periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional charging methods are used for lithium ion batteries, then charging safety is maintained, but charging rate is limited and charging duration is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The charging system is divided into two functional units: a main charging unit that provides standard charging current, and a booster unit that provides additional high-C rate charging current. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high charging rates by combining the outputs of both units, thereby reducing charging duration while maintaining safety through controlled current distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The charging system dynamically adjusts the charging current based on the battery's state of charge (SoC). The booster unit is activated during specific SoC ranges (e.g., 10-70% or 20-80% SoC) to provide high-C rate charging, while the main charging unit operates continuously. This dynamic control enables high charging rates during optimal SoC windows while preventing overheating or damage at extreme charge levels.
2Productivity
If high-C rate charging is applied across the full SoC range, then charging duration is reduced, but battery safety and performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies high-C rate charging selectively within specific SoC ranges (local regions of the charging curve) rather than uniformly across the entire charging spectrum. The booster unit provides enhanced current during intermediate SoC ranges (e.g., 10-70% or 20-80%) where the battery can tolerate higher rates, while the main charging unit handles low and high SoC regions where safety concerns are more pronounced. This localized approach to current distribution maintains battery safety while maximizing charging speed during safe operating windows.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the charging current parameter dynamically based on the battery's state of charge. During intermediate SoC ranges, the booster unit increases the charging current to achieve high-C rates. As the battery approaches full charge or starts from very low charge, the system reduces the current to safer levels. This parameter modulation allows high charging rates only when the battery's electrochemical state permits it, thereby maintaining safety while improving overall charging performance.
3Productivity
If a booster unit is added to provide high-C rate charging, then charging efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The booster unit and main charging unit are merged into a single integrated charging system that shares common control electronics, communication interfaces, and safety monitoring mechanisms. The controller coordinates both units based on real-time battery state, allowing them to operate as a unified system rather than separate independent units. This merging approach reduces the overall complexity that would otherwise result from having two completely independent charging systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller automatically manages the coordination between the main charging unit and booster unit based on real-time monitoring of battery parameters such as voltage, current, and temperature. The system self-regulates the contribution of each unit without requiring external intervention or complex user configuration. This self-service capability simplifies the user interface and reduces operational complexity, even though the underlying hardware includes both charging units.
Data Source
AI summary
A charging system that may include a booster unit; a main charging unit that has a charging capability and is configured to use, during a first charging phase, a first part of the charging capacity for charging battery cells by providing a high-C charging current of at least 4 C. The main charging unit is further configured to use a second part of the charging capacity, during the first charging phase, to charge the booster unit. The first part of the charging capacity is limited by a first charging current limitation of the battery cells.