US-12617299-B2 - Flexible battery system for a vehicle

Abstract

A configuration instruction associated with configuring a plurality of batteries which supply power to a plurality of motors in a vehicle is received. The batteries are configuring as specified by the configuration instruction, where the batteries are able to be configured in a plurality of configurations, including: a first configuration where at least some of the batteries are electrically connected together in parallel and a second configuration where at least some of the batteries are electrically connected together in series.

Inventors

• Joseph Orender
• Christopher Scott Saunders
• Derek Wong

Assignees

• KITTY HAWK CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20230330

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A system, comprising: a plurality of batteries which supply power to a plurality of motors in a vehicle, wherein a first subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a first subset of the plurality of motors and a second subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a second subset of the plurality of motors; and a battery configuration controller that is configured to: determine a flight plan including a time associated with the vehicle being in a particular flight mode during the flight plan; predict a load of at least one of the plurality of motors based at least on a comparison of real-time conditions with at least one of: a direction or a velocity of the vehicle; receive a configuration instruction associated with configuring the plurality of batteries, wherein the configuration instruction is generated in response to the predicted load of at least one of the plurality of motors; and configure the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction to: provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above a threshold to have in-series batteries, and provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above a threshold to have in-parallel batteries, wherein the in-parallel batteries are electrically independent from the in-series batteries.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration instruction is generated when the vehicle is in a pre-flight state.
3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration is performed prior to takeoff.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration is performed mid-flight.
5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the in-series batteries provide at least twice the voltage of a single battery to those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above the threshold.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the battery configuration controller is further configured to: receive a configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries; and in response to receiving the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries, the battery configuration controller configures the plurality of batteries to be in a configuration where at least some of the plurality of batteries are connected together in series.
7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries is based at least in part on a flight mode associated with charging.
8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the battery configuration controller is further configured to: receive a configuration instruction is generated in anticipation of the vehicle taking off; and in response to receiving the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of the vehicle taking off, the battery configuration controller configures the plurality of batteries to be in a configuration where at least some of the plurality of batteries are connected together in parallel.
9. 9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the particular flight mode includes at least one of: a hovering mode and a forward flight mode.
10. 10 . A method, comprising: determining a flight plan including a time associated with the vehicle being in a particular flight mode during the flight plan; predicting a load of at least one of a plurality of motors based at least on a comparison of real-time conditions with at least one of: a direction or a velocity of a vehicle; receiving a configuration instruction associated with configuring a plurality of batteries, wherein the configuration instruction is generated in response to the predicted load of at least one of the plurality of motors, wherein: the plurality of batteries supply power to the plurality of motors in the vehicle, a first subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a first subset of the plurality of motors, and a second subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a second subset of the plurality of motors; and configuring the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction to: provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above a threshold to have in-series batteries; and provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above a threshold to have in-parallel batteries, wherein the in-parallel batteries are electrically independent from the in-series batteries.
11. 11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the configuration instruction is generated when the vehicle is in a pre-flight state.
12. 12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the configuration is performed prior to takeoff.
13. 13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the configuration is performed mid-flight.
14. 14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the in-series batteries provide at least twice the voltage of a single battery to those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above the threshold.
15. 15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein configuring the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction includes connecting at least a subset of the plurality of batteries in parallel to power those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above the threshold.
16. 16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising: receiving a configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries; and in response to receiving the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries, configuring the plurality of batteries to be in a configuration where at least some of the plurality of batteries are connected together in series.
17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries is based at least in part on a flight mode associated with charging.
18. 18 . A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for: determining a flight plan including a time associated with the vehicle being in a particular flight mode during the flight plan; predicting a load of at least one of a plurality of motors based at least on a comparison of real-time conditions with at least one of: a direction or a velocity of a vehicle; receiving a configuration instruction associated with configuring a plurality of batteries, wherein the configuration instruction is generated in response to the predicted load of at least one of a plurality of motors, wherein: the plurality of batteries supply power to the plurality of motors in the vehicle, a first subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a first subset of the plurality of motors, and a second subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a second subset of the plurality of motors; and configuring the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction to: provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above a threshold to have in-series batteries, and provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above a threshold to have in-parallel batteries, wherein the in-parallel batteries are electrically independent from the in-series batteries.
19. 19 . The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the configuration instruction is generated when the vehicle is in a pre-flight state.
20. 20 . The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the configuration is performed prior to takeoff.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/904,335 entitled FLEXIBLE BATTERY SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE filed Jun. 17, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,642,972, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/556,718 entitled FLEXIBLE BATTERY SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE filed Aug. 30, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,723,235, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION New types of battery-powered vehicles are being developed with new designs and/or configurations. For example, Kitty Hawk Corporation has developed a battery-powered multicopter that is capable of taking off from and/or landing on water if desired. New types of battery systems and/or architectures that work within the framework or constraints of such new vehicle designs and/or configurations and that also improve some aspect of the vehicle's use and/or management would be desirable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an embodiment of a battery-powered vehicle. FIG. 1B is a side view of an embodiment of a battery-powered vehicle. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process to configure a plurality of batteries which supply power to a plurality of motors in a vehicle. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a flexible battery system. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a flexible battery system where the batteries and motors are in a parallel configuration. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process to configure a plurality of batteries, including by connecting at least some batteries together in parallel in response to a configuration instruction generated in anticipation of the vehicle taking off. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a flexible battery system where the batteries are in series. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process to configure a plurality of batteries, including by connecting at least some batteries together in series in response to a configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a flexible battery system where a bad battery is isolated. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process to configure a plurality of batteries, including by isolating a failing battery. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a flexible battery system where one group of batteries is connected together in series and another group of batteries is connected together in parallel. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a first set of one or more motors that is powered by a first set of batteries and a second set of one or more motors that is powered by a second set of one or more batteries. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process to configure a first set of one or more motors that is powered by a first set of batteries and a second set of one or more motors that is powered by a second set of one or more batteries. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or a processor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor. In this specification, these implementations, or any other form that the invention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the invention. Unless stated otherwise, a component such as a processor or a memory described as being configured to perform a task may be implemented as a general component that is temporarily configured to perform the task at a given time or a specific component that is manufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term ‘processor’ refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores configured to process data, such as computer program instructions. A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to