Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
320119000 | With individual charging of plural batteries or cells | 32 |
20080197806 | Charge Redistribution Circuit - A charge redistribution circuit ( | 08-21-2008 |
20080309288 | METHOD FOR BALANCING LITHIUM SECONDARY CELLS AND MODULES - A battery pack control module for balancing a plurality of lithium secondary cells or groups of lithium secondary cells connected in series and method of use. | 12-18-2008 |
20090066292 | BATTERY STRUCTURE AND CHARGING DEVICE ADAPTED FOR THE BATTERY STRUCTURE - A battery structure and a charging device adapted for the battery structure are provided. The battery structure comprises N battery cells, (N−1) movable connectors, and a protection device, wherein N is a positive integer greater than one. The charging device comprises an open circuit device and a power supply. The N battery cells are arranged next to each other, and each battery cell has two junctions. When the battery structure is discharging, each movable connector electrically connects the two adjacent junctions of the every two adjacent battery cells, with all the battery cells cascaded. When the battery structure is charged by the charging device, the open circuit device will enable the movable connector to disconnect the two adjacent junctions of the two adjacent battery cells so that there would be open circuits between every two adjacent battery cells. Then, the 2N charging junctions of the power supply charge the junctions of each battery cell individually. | 03-12-2009 |
20090146610 | Battery management system - Apparatus for a modular battery management system with interchangeable slave modules connected to each cell and including a master module controlling and managing the battery system. All the modules receive power through a transfer switch that selectively switches between an external source, an auxiliary source, and the battery. The modules are configured to connect to a cell of the battery for charging and monitoring the cell individually. Each module is electrically isolated from the other modules. The modules are autonomous and shut down the battery and disconnect the module when a critical parameter of the cell is reached. When the battery is in service and a cell parameter approaches the critical level, the master controller instructs the corresponding slave module to charge the cell using battery power. The master module initializes the slave modules to uniquely identify the modules. | 06-11-2009 |
20090153101 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CHARGING MULTI-CELL LITHIUM-BASED BATTERIES - A method and system for charging multi-cell lithium-based batteries. In some aspects, a battery charger includes a housing, at least one terminal to electrically connect to a battery pack supported by the housing, and a controller operable to provide a charging current to the battery pack through the at least one terminal. The battery pack includes a plurality of lithium-based battery cells, with each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells having an individual state of charge. The controller is operable to control the charging current being supplied to the battery pack at least in part based on the individual state of charge of at least one battery cell. | 06-18-2009 |
20090160401 | Battery Charge Management System For Charging A Battery Bank That Includes A Plurality Of Batteries - Battery charge management systems for charging a battery bank including a plurality of batteries connected in series are disclosed that include: a power source having a charging port, the power source capable of providing power to each battery in the battery bank; a multiplexer connected to the battery bank, the multiplexer capable of connecting the charging port to a single battery at a time and capable of switching the connection of the charging port to each battery in the battery bank; and a microcontroller connected to the multiplexer and operatively coupled to each battery in the battery bank, the microcontroller capable of receiving discharge data and charge data for each battery in the battery bank, the microcontroller capable of instructing the multiplexer to switch the connection of the charging port with each battery in dependence upon the discharge data and the charge data for that battery. | 06-25-2009 |
20090218986 | Method and Apparatus for the Management of Battery Cells - A method and apparatus for the management of rechargeable series-connected cells (C | 09-03-2009 |
20100231167 | POWER SUPPLYING APPARATUS - A power supplying apparatus for supplying power to a plurality of loads has been needed. Therefore, a power supplying apparatus for supplying power to a plurality of loads, including: a rectifying circuit connected to each of the plurality of loads; an AC circuit to sequentially connect between the rectifying circuits; and an AC generating circuit to apply AC voltage to the AC circuit, in which the AC circuit includes a capacitor and an inductor connected in series is provided. | 09-16-2010 |
20100264879 | Battery Chargers, Electrical Systems, and Rechargeable Battery Charging Methods - Battery chargers, electrical systems, and rechargeable battery charging methods are described. According to one aspect, a battery charger includes charge circuitry configured to apply a plurality of main charging pulses of electrical energy to a plurality of rechargeable cells of a battery to charge the rechargeable cells during a common charge cycle of the battery and to apply a plurality of secondary charging pulses of electrical energy to less than all of the rechargeable cells of the battery during the common charge cycle of the battery to charge the less than all of the rechargeable cells. | 10-21-2010 |
20110025272 | CHARGING METHOD, CHARGING DEVICE, AND BATTERY PACK - A charging method is a method for charging assembled cells formed by connecting two or more cells in series. Specifically, constant-current charging is performed on the assembled cells, and when the inter-terminal voltage value of one of the cells reaches a first voltage value, the charging current value is reduced from the first current value to a second current value, and constant-current charging in which the charging current value is the second current value is performed on the assembled cells. | 02-03-2011 |
20110234165 | Modular Charging System for Multi-Cell Series-Connected Battery Packs - A modular charging system for series-connected battery packs is disclosed. An individual isolated charging module is connected across each cell in the pack. A battery cell and its corresponding charging module form a battery module assembly, a plurality of which are connected in series to form a complete battery pack of desired characteristics. A common input power input bus is shared between all charging modules and is connected in a daisy-chain fashion to a single input power source. A common isolated communications bus, which may be isolated CAN bus, is similarly shared and daisy-chained between all modules, connecting them to a monitoring processor. The monitoring processor is primarily intended to report the condition of each cell to the pack user or operator and need not actively control the charging of any individual cell. Each cell in a pack is optimally charged by the corresponding charging module. The overall system is readily scaled to any desired pack voltage and is well suited to mass production. | 09-29-2011 |
20110241623 | BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM AND METHOD - A battery charging system and method, includes a high voltage charger for charging a group or string of series connected battery cells, and a group of individual cell chargers for charging individual ones of the cells. The charging technique includes detecting at least one cell being charged to a predetermined voltage, and then inhibiting the high voltage charger from further charging any of the cells. The individual cell chargers charge individual ones of the cells, except the at least one cell charged to the predetermined voltage. | 10-06-2011 |
20110248678 | INTELLIGENT BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD - A method and apparatus for the intelligent management of multi-cell battery pack. A battery management system which may be mounted on board a vehicle facilitates battery management including monitoring the state of charge of the battery pack. Wireless communication equipment facilitate communication between the battery management system to a remote location. A battery charger controlled by the battery management system charges individual cells of the battery pack. | 10-13-2011 |
20120007559 | Device and Control Algorithm for Continuously Equalizing the Charge State of Lithium Ion Battery Cells - A method of equalizing charge states of individual cells in a battery includes measuring a previous cell voltage for each cell, measuring a previous shunt current for each cell, calculating, based on the previous cell voltage and the previous shunt current, an adjusted cell voltage for each cell, determining a lowest adjusted cell voltage from among the calculated adjusted cell voltages, and calculating a new shunt current for each cell. | 01-12-2012 |
20120194137 | VOLTAGE EQUALIZER FOR BATTERY ASSEMBLY - A voltage equalizer is applied to balance voltages among multiple battery units that are connected in series as a battery assembly. The voltage equalizer has a transformer, a switch and a controller. The transformer has a primary winding connected to the battery assembly and the controller through the switch, and further has multiple secondary windings connected to the battery units respectively. When the switch is alternately turned on and off, the transformer draws energy from the battery units with the higher voltage and couples the energy to the secondary windings to charge the battery unit with the lower voltage for balancing the voltages of the battery units. | 08-02-2012 |
20120194138 | ELECTRIC ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM WITH BALANCING CIRCUIT - An electric energy storage system is designed to equally utilize electric energy storage banks during charging/discharging, and keep fluctuation of an input voltage from a charger or an output voltage to a load, within an arbitrary range, while equally utilizing the electric energy storage banks during charging/discharging. The electric energy storage system comprises an electric energy storage module, a charger, a balancing circuit, a voltage detection section, taps led out, respectively, from one of opposite terminals of the electric energy storage module and/or the other terminal of the electric energy storage module and/or one or more of series-connection points between the electric energy storage units, through respective switches, and a switch control section for switching the switches such that one of the taps is connected to one of opposite terminals of the charger. The switch control section is operable to sequentially switch the switches according to progress of the charging. | 08-02-2012 |
20120313584 | VEHICLE - A vehicle includes a PCU controlling electric power supplied to a motor, a first power storage device, a second power storage device, an ECU, a charger, system main relays SMR | 12-13-2012 |
20130002202 | CELL BALANCE CONTROL DEVICE AND CELL BALANCE CONTROLLING METHOD - A cell balance control device includes a battery monitor unit, a cell balance unit, and an ECU, and equalizes serially connected chargeable battery cells in a battery loaded into a vehicle. The battery monitor unit detects the voltage of each battery cell. The cell balance unit equalizes the voltages of the plurality of battery cells based on the voltage of each battery cell detected by the battery monitor unit. At least one of the times when an idling stop state of the vehicle starts, when the charging operation of the battery starts, and when the charging operation of the battery terminates triggers the ECU allowing the cell balance unit to equalize the voltage of the plurality of battery cells. | 01-03-2013 |
20130015818 | CIRCUIT ASSEMBLYAANM Schaefer; TimAACI HarztorAACO DEAAGP Schaefer; Tim Harztor DE - The invention relates to a circuit assembly ( | 01-17-2013 |
20130026993 | CELL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - A cell management system and method for balancing energy across a plurality of cells coupled to a circuit bus. The system can include a transformer, two transformer switches, and for each cell, a first switch pair allowing transfer of energy between the transformer and the cell, and a second switch pair allowing removal or inclusion of the cell in the serial connection of cells. The system can include an energy storage device, a switch pair allowing transfer of energy between the transformer and the storage device, and for each cell, a third switch pair allowing transfer of energy between the storage device and the cell. The system can include cell, bus and storage device sensors and state estimators. The system can include a controller that controls the transformer switches, cell switches, and storage device switches based on the sensor readings and states. | 01-31-2013 |
20130038290 | CHARGE EQUALIZATION SYSTEM FOR BATTERIES - An equalization system for batteries has two series-connected accumulator stages connected, each including an accumulator, a voltage generator including positive and negative poles, for each stage, an associated charging device supplied by the voltage generator. The charging device includes an inductor having a first and second ends, and a capacitor having first and second ends. The capacitor's first end connects to the generator's positive pole. It also has a diode whose anode connects to a negative pole of the accumulator stage and whose cathode connects to the inductor's first end. It also has a switch whose first end connects to the inductor. And it also has a control device that controls the generator and closes a switch of a charging device associated with an accumulator stage to be charged so that the inductor stores energy, and causes its transfer to that accumulator stage. | 02-14-2013 |
20130043842 | CHARGE EQUALIZATION SYSTEM FOR BATTERIES - A battery equalization system has two accumulator stages in series, each including an accumulator, and ±poles, a voltage generator for each accumulator stage, and an associated charging device powered by the generator. The charging device includes an inductor and capacitors. One capacitor connects to the generator's positive pole, the other connects to its negative pole, a first diode, whose anode connects to a negative pole of the accumulator stage and whose cathode connects to the first capacitor, a second diode whose anode connects to the negative pole of the accumulator stage and whose cathode connects to the second end of the second capacitor, and a switch connected to the inductor and to the positive pole of the accumulator stage, and a control device that controls the generator, closes the switch and causes the inductor to stores energy and to transfer it to the associated accumulator stage. | 02-21-2013 |
20130127419 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BALANCING ELECTRICAL CELLS - The present invention relates to a system for charge balancing over a plurality of rechargeable energy storage devices coupled in series, said system comprising a plurality of balancing units each assigned to one of the rechargeable energy storage devices, an AC signal generator for providing an AC signal to the plurality of balancing units, and a capacitive coupling between the AC signal generator and each of the plurality of balancing units for common mode rejection. A first balancing unit comprises a plurality of switches for transferring, on the one hand, charge from the AC signal generator or from an energy storage device assigned to another balancing unit for charging the energy storage device assigned to the first balancing unit, and, on the other hand, for transferring charge to the AC signal generator or to an energy storage device assigned to another balancing unit for discharging the energy storage device assigned to the first balancing unit. | 05-23-2013 |
20140042974 | DETACHABLE BATTERY MODULE, AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE CHARGE EQUALIZATION OF A BATTERY STRING USING SAME - Provided are a detachable battery module and a charge equalization method and apparatus for a battery string. According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the charge equalization apparatus are modularized by being divided into the master unit and the slave unit, such that the charge equalization apparatus may be expanded and contracted independent of the number of batteries, the circuits are separated for each module, such that the circuits may be easily implemented, and when the circuits are damaged, only the damaged module is replaced, such that the effective countermeasure may be performed. | 02-13-2014 |
20140084871 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR BALANCING BATTERY CELLS - In a power converter, a primary winding receives an input power. In addition, multiple secondary windings transform the input power into multiple charging currents to charge a set of cells via a set of paths. The multiple secondary windings further balance the set of cells based on the charging currents. A ratio between a first turn number of a first secondary winding of the secondary windings and a second turn number of a second secondary winding of the secondary windings is determined by a nominal voltage ratio between two corresponding cells of the set of cells. | 03-27-2014 |
20140139186 | ACTIVE VOLTAGE BALANCING OF SERIES CAPACITOR ARRANGEMENT - A circuit includes a series arrangement of capacitors and a balancing circuit coupled to the series arrangement of capacitors, the balancing circuit having drive circuits each coupled at a node in the series arrangement at which two of the capacitors are coupled in series. The drive circuit includes an output stage having switches arranged to either push or pull current from a drive circuit output depending on the state of the switches. | 05-22-2014 |
20140159665 | Method for Balancing Out States of Charge of a Battery Having a Plurality of Battery Cells, and a Corresponding Battery Management System and Battery - The disclosure relates to a method for balancing out states of charge of a battery which has a number of N battery cells. In order to balance out the individual states of charge (SOCn) of the n=1 to N cells, the state of charge of at least one cell is changed to a target state of charge (SOCtarget,n) which depends on the discharge depth (DODk) of the cell having the lowest capacity (Capk) according to the equation SOCtarget,n=1−DODk/Capn, Capn being the capacity of the nth cell to be changed. Advantageously, the method is suitable for optimizing the voltage or the energy content of a battery that is constituted of a plurality of cells. | 06-12-2014 |
20140232347 | CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR BATTERY EQUALIZATION - A battery equalization circuit is provided, including: a positive battery node connecting to a positive node of a battery cell in a battery circuit with a plurality of other battery cells; a negative battery node connected to a negative node of the battery cell; a transformer winding receiving an AC voltage, the transformer winding having an upper transformer node and a tower transformer node; an upper triac connected between the positive battery node and the upper transformer node; a lower triac connected between the negative battery node and the lower transformer node; a control circuit for controlling the upper triac and the lower triac based on a measured cell voltage between the positive battery node and the negative battery node, and a total battery voltage of the battery circuit; and an isolation element connected between the control circuit and a data bus. | 08-21-2014 |
20140239901 | METHOD OF FORMING A BALANCING CIRCUIT FOR A PLURALITY OF BATTERY CELLS AND STRUCTURE THEREFOR - In one embodiment, a method of forming a balancing circuit for a plurality of battery cells includes configuring the balancing circuit to selectively pre-charge a transfer element from a power source, and to subsequently selectively couple the transfer element to one battery cell of the plurality of battery cells to transfer energy from the transfer element to the one battery cell. | 08-28-2014 |
20150303728 | ASSEMBLED BATTERY MONITORING DEVICE - A battery monitoring device monitors a battery having a plurality of cell groups in which a plurality of cells is connected in series. The battery monitoring device comprises at one or more integrated circuit units, each of which corresponds to each cell group, that respectively measure the voltages of the cells of the cell group and performs cell balancing in order to adjust the capacities of the cells of the cell group; a control unit that controls the integrated circuit unit; and a power supply unit that supplies power to the control unit. The control unit causes the integrated circuit unit to start or to stop cell balancing, and sets a timer period for starting or stopping supply of the power. | 10-22-2015 |
20150380952 | Battery Cell Charge Equalization - Battery cell charge equalization devices, systems and methods are provided. A particular method includes receiving a charging current at a battery charge equalization circuit coupled to a battery cell of a multi-cell battery. The method also includes routing at least a portion of the charging current away from the battery cell when a voltage of the battery cell satisfies a first voltage threshold. The method further includes establishing a second voltage threshold in response to the voltage of the battery cell satisfying the first voltage threshold. The second voltage threshold is lower than the first voltage threshold. The charging current is routed away from the battery cell while the voltage of the battery cell satisfies the second voltage threshold. | 12-31-2015 |
20160181837 | HYBRID BATTERY BALANCING SYSTEM | 06-23-2016 |