KR-20260065943-A - Reconfigurable battery system with fault management capabilities

Abstract

A reconfigurable battery system comprises a plurality of cells, each cell being optionally connected in series with one or more other cells by a switching circuit to control a combined series output voltage. The switching circuit comprises a plurality of switches arranged to control or bypass the serial connection of each cell within the plurality of cells, either individually or in an optional combination. The switching circuit comprises at least a first switch group and a second switch group, each group comprising a selection of switches. A plurality of handshake circuits are each configured to control one or more handshake signals. A plurality of cell controllers are each configured to operate in one of an operating mode and one or more fault modes based on one or more received handshake signals, and in the operating mode, are configured to operate the switches of the first switch group, and in the fault mode, are configured to optionally operate at least one switch of the second switch group based on the received handshake signal.

Inventors

• 프라제레스 호세
• 로코 안토니오
• 우드콕-스미스 매튜

Assignees

• 리렉트리파이 홀딩스 피티와이 리미티드

Dates

Publication Date

20260511

Application Date

20240913

Priority Date

20230913

Claims (20)

1. As a reconfigurable battery system: A plurality of cells, each cell capable of being selectively connected in series with one or more other cells by a switching circuit to control a combined series output voltage; A switching circuit comprising a plurality of switches arranged to control or bypass a serial connection of each cell within a plurality of cells individually or in a selective combination, wherein the switching circuit comprises at least a first switch group and a second switch group, each group comprising a selection of switches; A plurality of handshake circuits, each configured to control one or more handshake signals; and Includes multiple cell controllers, Each cell controller is: - Configured to operate in one of an operating mode and one or more failure modes based on one or more received handshake signals, and - In an operating mode, configured to operate the switches of the first switch group, and - A system configured to selectively operate at least one switch within the second switch group based on a received handshake signal in a fault mode.
2. In claim 1, Each handshake circuit is: - Components of the handshake circuit, - Switches in a switch group, - Cell controller, - Cell, - Power supply for the handshake circuit and/or cell controller, A system configured to control one or more handshake signals based on the detection of a fault in any one or more of them.
3. In claim 1 or claim 2, The above switching circuit includes switch groups and control domain groups, and each switch group is: - 0 closed switches disconnect the series connection, - One closed switch connects or bypasses the cell to/from the serial connection, and - More than one closed switch causes a short circuit in at least one cell, A system defined by a combination of switches including
4. In any one of claims 1 to 3, A system configured such that, in an additional fault mode, the first cell controller selectively closes one switch of the first switch group based on one or more handshake signals from other handshake circuits.
5. In any one of claims 1 to 4, A system in which each cell controller is further configured to operate at least one switch of the first switch group based on a handshake signal in an operating mode.
6. In any one of claims 1 to 5, A system comprising a level shifting circuit operable to interface a cell controller with at least one switch within a switch group selectively controlled by another controller, wherein the handshake circuit further comprises a level shifting circuit.
7. In any one of claims 1 to 7, The above one or more handshake signals are: - Operating or failure mode status of the first cell controller transmitted to the second controller; - Operating or failure mode status of the second cell controller transmitted to the first controller; and/or - A command transmitted from the first cell controller to control at least one switch in the first switch group for the operating mode of the first cell controller; Includes one or more of the following, The second cell controller is configured to take over the control of at least one switch in the first switch group based on the failure mode of the first cell controller; and/or A system configured such that the first cell controller closes the switches of the first switch group, rather than the at least one switch selectively controlled by the second controller, based on a failure mode of the second controller.
8. In claim 7, The failure state of the above-mentioned first cell controller is: - Switches within the first switch group configured to connect or bypass cells, and/or - Cells connected to switches within the first switch group above; Based on one or more failures, and/or The failure state of the above second cell controller is: - Switches within the second switch group configured to connect or bypass cells, and/or - Cells connected to switches within the second switch group above; A system based on one or more failures.
9. In claim 7, The above one or more handshake signals further include a fault state based on a fault in a component of the handshake circuit; and in response: The second cell controller is configured to replace the control of at least one switch in the first switch group based on a failure in a component of the handshake circuit; and The first cell controller is configured to close a switch of the first switch group, rather than at least one switch selectively controlled by the second controller, based on a failure in a component of the handshake circuit; The above circuit further includes a plurality of short circuit protection circuits (SCPCs) connected to each switch of the first switch group, and A system configured such that the SCPC is configured to disable the operation of at least one switch or the switch of the first switch group that is not the at least one switch.
10. In claim 7, One or more handshake signals are: - A communication line for each command transmitted from the first cell controller to control at least one switch in the first switch group with respect to the operating or failing state of the first cell controller transmitted to the second controller, the operating or failing state of the second cell controller transmitted to the first controller, and/or the operating state of the first cell controller; - A communication line comprising modulated and encoded data including a command transmitted from the first cell controller to control at least one switch in the first switch group with respect to the operating or failing state of the first cell controller transmitted to the second controller, the operating or failing state of the second controller transmitted to the first controller, and/or the operating state of the first cell controller; A system including one or more of the following.
11. In any one of claims 1 to 10, The above handshake circuit is: Components of the above handshake circuit, Switches in a switch group, Cell controller, Cell, and/or Power supply to the above handshake circuit and/or cell controller A system comprising a finite state machine having an output controlled by an input based on a failure in one or more of the following.
12. In claim 11, The above handshake circuit is: Components of the above handshake circuit; Power supply to the above handshake circuit and/or cell controller A system comprising a finite state machine having an output having states including at least one state controlled by an input based on a failure in one or more of them.
13. In claim 12, The above at least one state is: The operation or failure status of the first cell controller transmitted to the second controller above, The operating or failure status of the second cell controller transmitted to the first controller, and/or Failure in the components of the above handshake circuit A system controlled by inputs based on any one or more of the following.
14. In claim 13, A system in which the above output further comprises states controlled by an input from the first cell controller to control the state of the at least one switch.
15. In any one of claims 1 to 14, The handshake circuit comprises a first circuit portion and a second circuit portion, wherein the first circuit portion is configured to be controlled by a first cell controller and the second circuit portion is configured to be controlled by a second controller, and the first and second circuits are connected by a single link; The above handshake circuit is configured to control a single analog link in one of three or more states, each state representing a different current magnitude; The above state is: - The operation or failure status of the first cell controller transmitted to the second cell controller, - A control signal determining the ON state of at least one switch, and - A system comprising a control signal for determining the off state of at least one switch.
16. In any one of claims 1 to 15, The above handshake circuit includes a first circuit portion and a second circuit portion, and The above first circuit portion is configured to be controlled by a first cell controller, and The above second circuit portion is configured to be controlled by a second controller, and A system in which the first and second circuits are connected by a communication link comprising a single link or a plurality of data lines.
17. In any one of claims 1 to 16, The above-mentioned reconfigurable battery system further comprises an interconnected sequence of switching circuits, each having a cell controller, and The above handshake circuit is: A transmitter portion configured to transmit one or more handshake signals to the next adjacent cell controller within the chain, and A system comprising parts of a receiver portion configured to receive one or more handshake signals from a previous adjacent cell controller within the chain, wherein the handshake circuit forms a sequence of the cell controllers accordingly.
18. In claim 17, The above sequence includes a first cell controller, a next adjacent cell controller within the sequence, and a previous adjacent cell controller within the sequence, and when a cell failure is detected: The transmitter portion connected to the first cell controller transmits a handshake signal indicating a fault condition to the next adjacent cell controller; The receiver portion connected to the first cell controller transmits a handshake signal indicating a fault state to the previous cell controller; A system in which the switching circuit is controlled to bypass the cell from a serial connection.
19. In any one of claims 1 to 18, The above-mentioned reconfigurable battery system further comprises an interconnected sequence of switching circuits, each having a cell controller, and The above handshake circuit is: A transmitter portion connected to a first cell controller and configured to transmit one or more handshake signals to a second cell controller, and The second cell controller includes parts of a receiver portion configured to receive one or more handshake signals from the first cell controller, and A system in which the handshake circuit and the first and second cell controllers form at least a part of the interconnected sequence.
20. In any one of claims 1 to 19, The above-mentioned reconfigurable battery system includes a plurality of cell modules, and Each module includes a first cell and a second cell, and each cell has two terminals, and one of the terminals of the first cell and the second cell is connected to define a module node comprising a first node which is the first cell terminal of the first cell, a second node which is the second terminal of the first cell and the second cell, and a third node which is the third terminal of the second cell. The first, second, and third nodes of each of one or more pairs of modules within the above system are connected by a set of three switches of a switching circuit; A system comprising: a first switch group including three switches connecting the first, second, and third nodes of the first and second cell modules, and a second switch group including three switches connecting the first, second, and third nodes of the second and third cell modules.

Description

Reconfigurable battery system with fault management capabilities The present invention generally relates to an electronic assembly associated with an energy storage system, and in particular to a system for managing failures of a storage device or a control device. Energy storage systems for applications such as all-electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and stationary energy storage in grid-connected or standalone applications often include an array comprising multiple energy storage cell units. In an energy storage system comprising multiple energy storage cell units, the multiple cell units are typically connected in series by a switching circuit. The switching circuit has switches arranged to control the serial connection of a cell to another cell or to bypass a cell from the series arrangement of cells. The switches are generally controlled by a controller based on the desired output voltage in the series connection of cells. In such systems, there is a problem where a failure of a cell, switch, or controller typically renders the energy storage system inoperable. The present invention may be better understood by referring to the following drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily sized relative to one another, but rather focus on clearly explaining the principles of the invention. Additionally, the same reference numerals indicate corresponding parts in multiple views. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary reconfigurable battery system including a switch group and a control domain group. FIG. 2a is an exemplary embodiment of a reconfigurable battery system having a plurality of cells that can be optionally connected in series, and controlling the output voltage based on the combined voltage of the series-connected cells. Figure 2b is a simplified version of the circuit in Figure 2a. FIG. 3a shows the circuit of FIG. 1, which includes a plurality of handshake circuits, and represents a circuit capable of generating a plurality of handshake signals. Figure 3b shows a diagram of the cell controller chain and the handshake circuit parts configured to transmit and receive handshake signals. FIG. 3c shows how each cell controller includes or is connected to the handshake circuit Tx and Rx portions. Sequentially connected adjacent cell controllers can be connected only through a single wire of the handshake circuit. FIG. 4a is an input and output status table according to some embodiments. Figure 4b is a truth table for the example circuits of Figures 2a and 2b. FIG. 5a illustrates an example of a handshake signal transmission circuit in which a single analog link connects two handshake circuits from a CCn switch group to a CCn+1 switch group. Figure 5b illustrates an example of a handshake signal transmission circuit in which three parallel transmission lines connect two handshake circuits from the CCn switch group to the CCn+1 switch group. Figure 5c shows that in the impedance control method, each impedance control element Z1, Z2, and Z3 can be implemented as a pull-up level shifter circuit. Figure 6 shows a pull-up source, a pull-up resistor, and a MOSFET. Figure 7 illustrates another example of a handshake signal transmission circuit in which a transmitted signal fout is modulated and a received signal is demodulated by a demodulator. Figure 8 shows a shift register that can be used to serialize data bits and transmit them to an adjacent cell controller. Figure 9 shows a daisy-chain array of shift registers that support both parallel input and parallel output. FIGS. 10a through 10e illustrate other examples of reconfigurable battery systems having a switching circuit configured to connect or bypass each cell in the circuit in series. Figure 11 is an exemplary impedance control element. FIG. 12a illustrates a finite state machine in which the output is based on a specific input, specifically representing the truth table of FIG. 4a. Figure 12b shows a finite state machine for the example circuits of Figures 2a and 2b. Figure 13 shows a diagram of system components that provide failsafe functions across the various failure possibilities described above. Figure 14 shows the voltage output of the system after a failure mode occurs. FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram of a logic element operable with a single analog link, in which the HS_FB signal, HS_OK signal, and HS_CMD signal are transmitted through a single analog link within the handshake circuit. Embodiments of the present disclosure are now described. Exemplary methods, devices, assemblies, and systems are described herein. It should be understood that the word “exemplary” is used to mean “as an example, as an example, or for illustrative purposes.” Any embodiment or feature described herein as “exemplary” or “for illustrative purposes” is not to be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over any other embodiment or feature. More generally, the embodiments described herein are not limiting. It will be readily understood that specific