Portable Power Supply CAN Bus With Galvanic Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable power supplies lack robust communication protocols and user interfaces for managing power distribution and battery health, leading to inefficiencies and safety concerns when charging multiple devices.
Innovation Solution
A portable power supply system utilizing a Control Area Network (CAN) bus for communication between subsystems, including a battery management system, battery pack charger, and human-machine interface, ensuring galvanic isolation for safety and enabling user control and monitoring of charging processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If galvanic isolation is implemented to protect users from high voltages, then safety is improved, but communication complexity increases due to the need for isolated CAN bus connections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs galvanic isolation barriers as intermediary devices between high-voltage battery components and low-voltage user interfaces. These isolation barriers (such as isolated CAN transceivers and optocouplers) act as mediators that transfer control signals and data while blocking harmful high voltages, thus protecting users without completely isolating the communication system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into isolated zones: a high-voltage zone containing battery cells and chargers, and a low-voltage zone containing user interfaces and control systems. Galvanic isolation barriers create clear boundaries between these zones, allowing independent management of each zone's safety requirements while maintaining controlled communication between them.
2Reliability
If CAN bus communication is implemented between subsystems, then communication reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional communication infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple communication functions into the CAN bus infrastructure, including battery management, charging control, and user interface communications. By consolidating these functions onto a single robust communication protocol and physical bus, the system achieves high reliability without proportionally increasing complexity compared to multiple separate communication systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The CAN bus is designed as a universal communication backbone that serves multiple subsystems simultaneously - battery core charger, battery pack charger, BMS, and HMI all communicate through the same protocol and infrastructure. This multi-functional approach improves reliability through standardized communication while avoiding the complexity of implementing separate dedicated communication channels for each subsystem.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple charging modules are supported through charge ports, then adaptability is improved, but safety risks increase due to exposure to high voltages
Solution Approach 1:
Galvanic isolation barriers serve as intermediary protection devices between the high-voltage charging modules and user-accessible charge ports. These isolation components (such as isolated DC-DC converters and optocoupled control circuits) enable multiple battery types and charging configurations while maintaining electrical isolation that protects users from high voltage exposure during device charging operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable power supply. The portable power supply includes a housing, a CAN bus in the housing, a battery core in the housing and configured to be charged by a battery core charger, a battery pack charger connected to the battery core and to the CAN bus via a galvanic isolation barrier and including one or more charging modules, a battery management system connected to the battery pack charger via the CAN bus and configured to control an operation of the battery pack charger and the battery core charger, and a human machine interface connected to the battery management system via the CAN bus and configured to allow a user to generate one or more control commands or information requests on the CAN bus for execution by one or more of the battery management system, battery core charger, or battery pack charger.