Sequential Pulse Charging for Battery Packs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery charging methods face a trade-off between charging speed and battery lifetime, with pulse charging methods introducing pause periods that can impact peak power and heat generation, particularly in high-capacity batteries like those used in electric vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack charging apparatus and method that employs sequential pulse charging, where battery modules or cells are grouped and charged in a manner that adjusts pulse current magnitude and duration based on State of Charge (SOC) and State of Health (SOH), minimizing peak power and optimizing charging efficiency through reconfigurable connections and adaptive control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pulse charging at high current is used, then charging speed is improved, but peak power requirements increase and heat generation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The battery pack is divided into multiple battery modules that are charged sequentially rather than simultaneously. The charging apparatus charges one module at a time with pause periods in between, breaking the high-power simultaneous charging into multiple lower-power sequential charging cycles. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high charging speed for the entire pack while limiting peak power requirements at any given moment.
Solution Approach 2:
The charging process implements periodic pulse charging with pause periods. Each battery module receives pulsed charging current followed by pause periods where no current is applied. This periodic action allows the battery to relax and dissipate heat between pulses, reducing peak power requirements and heat generation while maintaining high overall charging speed through the sequential pulsing of multiple modules.
2Productivity
If pulse charging at high current is used, then charging speed is improved, but heat generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the battery pack into multiple modules and charging them sequentially with pause periods, the system avoids simultaneous high-current charging of all modules. This segmentation distributes the heat generation over time and allows heat dissipation during pause periods, reducing overall heat accumulation while maintaining high charging speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The periodic pulse charging with pause periods allows the battery modules to cool down between charging pulses. The pause periods are specifically designed to allow heat dissipation, preventing excessive heat generation while maintaining high charging speed through the cumulative effect of pulsing all modules sequentially.
3Power
If sequential pulse charging with pause periods is used, then peak power requirements are reduced, but charging time increases
Solution Approach 1:
While segmentation into sequential module charging does extend total charging time compared to simultaneous charging, it enables the use of higher pulse currents within each module's charging cycle. The pause periods are optimized to be short enough that the cumulative charging time remains acceptable while still achieving the goal of reducing peak power requirements through distributed sequential charging.
Solution Approach 2:
The periodic pulse charging approach uses high-current pulses followed by brief pause periods. The pulse duration and frequency are optimized to deliver sufficient charge during each pulse while keeping pause periods short. This allows the system to reduce peak power requirements through sequential module charging while minimizing the time loss from pause periods through optimized pulse timing.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3A
AI summary
A battery pack charging apparatus includes battery modules assigned to charging groups, the battery pack charging apparatus includes a charging factor setter configured to set charging factors of charging groups of the battery pack based on battery information; a sequential charger configured to sequentially charge the charging groups of the battery pack based on the charging factors of the set charging groups; and a charging controller configured to control charging of the charging groups based on either one or both of a individual group control factor and a pack control factor while the charging groups are sequentially charged.