Wireless Battery Balancing Circuits Reduce Heat
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery balancing methods, such as passive balancing using resistors, generate significant heat and can deteriorate the performance of battery packs by consuming battery energy, leading to uneven State of Charge (SOC) distribution among cells.
Innovation Solution
A battery balancing apparatus and method that converts electric energy into wireless signals to equalize SOC across battery cells, eliminating the need for balancing resistors and reducing heat generation by using balancing circuits connected in parallel to each battery cell, with a control unit managing the transmission of wireless signals to balance cell charges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If passive balancing method using balancing resistor is used to equalize SOCs of battery cells, then the SOCs of battery cells can be equalized, but considerable heat is generated from the balancing resistor which deteriorates the performance of neighboring circuit elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the passive resistive balancing mechanism with an active wireless power transfer system. Instead of dissipating energy as heat through resistors, the system uses electromagnetic coupling between coils to transfer energy from high-SOC cells to low-SOC cells, thereby eliminating the harmful heat generation while maintaining SOC equalization functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of energy dissipation from thermal (resistive heating) to electromagnetic (wireless power transfer). By transforming the balancing mechanism from resistive to inductive coupling, the system alters how excess energy is handled - instead of being wasted as heat, it is transferred to other cells through electromagnetic fields
2Reliability
If passive balancing method using balancing resistor is used to equalize SOCs of battery cells, then the SOCs of battery cells can be equalized, but the electric energy of battery cell is consumed which shortens battery life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the resistive energy dissipation system with an inductive power transfer system. The balancing resistor that previously consumed and wasted battery energy is replaced by wireless power transfer coils that move energy between cells without dissipation, thereby preserving total battery pack energy while achieving SOC equalization
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding excess energy from high-SOC cells through resistive dissipation, the system recovers and transfers this energy to low-SOC cells via wireless power transfer. This recovers what would otherwise be wasted energy and redistributes it to where it is needed, improving overall energy utilization
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces heat generation and interference during battery balancing, effectively extending battery life and maintaining pack performance by equalizing SOC without energy consumption through resistors.
Implementation Method 1
converting the electric energy of a battery cell into a wireless signal and transmitting the wireless signal
Implementation Method 2
The first wireless signal and the second wireless signal are at least partially canceled out by each other
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a battery balancing apparatus and method. The battery balancing apparatus includes a plurality of balancing circuits, each balancing circuit is connected in parallel to a respective battery cell among a plurality of battery cells and the plurality of balancing circuits are connected in series to each other, in one-to-one relationship; and a control unit operably coupled to each balancing circuit. The control unit selects at least one of the plurality of battery cells as a balancing target, based on a SOC of each battery cell, and outputs an enable signal and a balancing message to each balancing circuit connected to each battery cell selected as the balancing target. Each balancing circuit transmits a first wireless signal and a second wireless signal corresponding to the balancing message by using electric energy stored in each battery cell, when the enable signal is received by each balancing circuit.