US-20260128214-A1 - METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY AT ITS OPTIMAL OPERATING AND CHARGING TEMPERATURE

US20260128214A1US 20260128214 A1US20260128214 A1US 20260128214A1US-20260128214-A1

Abstract

A method including: charging a capacitor in parallel to the ESD; determining whether an energy storage device (ESD) is in use; monitoring temperature of the ESD, the ESD has a prescribed and operational temperature range; discharging the capacitor through an inductor by temporary actuation of a switch that couples the inductor in parallel to the capacitor, wherein oscillation of current and voltage is provided by a first circuit formed by the capacitor and the inductor, maintaining the ESD temperature within temperature range through oscillation of the ions due to high frequency oscillation of a second circuit formed by the capacitor and the internal inductance of the ESD, repeating the temporary reactuation of the switch while temperature is within the temperature range. Wherein the given temperature range is the prescribed temperature range when the ESD is not being used and is the operational temperature range when the ESD is being used.

Inventors

Jahangir S. Rastegar
Harbans Dhadwal

Assignees

OMNITEK PARTNERS LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251107

Claims (20)

1 . A method of maintaining a temperature of an energy storage device for an electrical platform, the energy storage device having an electrolyte with ions and an internal inductance, the method comprising: charging a capacitor coupled in parallel to the energy storage device; determining whether the energy storage device is in use for the electrical platform; monitoring a temperature of the energy storage device, wherein the energy storage device has a prescribed temperature range and an operational temperature range, the prescribed temperature range having an upper prescribed temperature limit which is below an upper operational temperature limit of the operational temperature range and having a lower prescribed temperature limit that is below a lower operational temperature limit of the operational temperature range; discharging the capacitor through an inductor by temporary actuation of a switch which during actuation, couples the inductor in parallel to the capacitor, wherein oscillation of current and voltage is provided by a first circuit formed by the capacitor and the inductor, maintaining the energy storage device temperature within a given temperature range through oscillation of the ions due to high frequency oscillation of a second circuit formed by the capacitor and the internal inductance of the energy storage device following termination of the actuation, repeating the temporary reactuation of the switch while the temperature is within the given temperature range, wherein the given temperature range is the prescribed temperature range when the energy storage device is not being used and is the operational temperature range when the energy storage device is being used.
2 . The method of claim 1 , comprising discontinuing the repeating of the reactuation of the switch when the temperature is above the upper prescribed temperature limit when the energy storage device is not in use and discontinuing the reactuation of the switch when the temperature is above the upper operational temperature limit when the energy storage device is in use.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a duration of the temporary actuation is at least equal to one quarter of the oscillation of the current or the voltage of the first circuit, and is equal or less than one half of the oscillation of the current or the voltage of the first circuit.
4 . The method of claim 1 , the repeating the temporary actuation comprising repeating the temporary actuation prior to voltage across the capacitor steadying to a voltage of the energy storage device.
5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising providing a low pass filter for coupling between the capacitor and the electrical platform thereby reducing current reaching the electrical platform due to the high frequency oscillation to below a predetermined threshold.
6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising providing a low pass filter for coupling between the capacitor and a charger for the energy storage device thereby reducing current reaching the charger due to the high frequency oscillation to below a predetermined threshold.
7 . The method of claim 1 , comprising charging the energy storage device when the energy storage device is within at least one of the prescribed temperature range and the operational temperature range.
8 . The method of claim 1 , comprising receiving an indication that the energy storage device is not going to be used for a long duration and in response to the indication, maintaining the energy storage device temperature within a storage temperature range through the high frequency oscillation of the second circuit following termination of the actuation, wherein the storage temperature range is a lower temperature range than the prescribed temperature range.
9 . A method of heating an energy storage device for an electrical platform, the energy storage device having an electrolyte with ions and an internal inductance, the method comprising: charging a capacitor coupled in parallel to the energy storage device; determining whether the energy storage device is in use for the electrical platform; monitoring a temperature of the energy storage device, wherein the energy storage device has a prescribed temperature range and an operational temperature range, the prescribed temperature range having an upper prescribed temperature limit which is below an upper operational temperature limit of the operational temperature range and having a lower prescribed temperature limit that is below a lower operational temperature limit of the operational temperature range; discharging the capacitor through an inductor by temporary actuation of a switch which during actuation, couples the inductor in parallel to the capacitor, wherein oscillation of current and voltage is provided by a first circuit formed by the capacitor and the inductor, heating the energy storage device to a given temperature range through oscillation of the ions due to high frequency oscillation of a second circuit formed by the capacitor and the internal inductance of the energy storage device following termination of the actuation, repeating the temporary reactuation of the switch while the temperature is within the given temperature range thereby continuing the energy storage device heating, and discontinuing the reactuation of the switch when the temperature is above the given temperature limit, wherein the given temperature range is the prescribed temperature range when the energy storage device is not being used and is the operational temperature range when the energy storage device is being used.
10 . A device for maintaining a temperature of an energy storage device for an electrical platform, the energy storage device having an electrolyte with ions and an internal inductance, the device comprising: a capacitor having first and second couplings for coupling the capacitor in parallel to the energy storage device when the device is coupled to the energy storage device; a switch; an inductor coupled in parallel to the capacitor through the switch when the switch is actuated; and a controller configured to actuate the switch, determine whether the energy storage device is in use for the electrical platform, and to monitor a temperature of the energy storage device when the energy storage device is coupled to the device, the controller being further configured to maintain the energy storage device within a prescribed temperature range and an operational temperature range, the prescribed temperature range having an upper prescribed temperature limit which is below an upper operational temperature limit of the operational temperature range and having a lower prescribed temperature limit that is below a lower operational temperature limit of the operational temperature range; wherein, when the energy storage device is coupled to the device, the controller being configured to discharge the capacitor through the inductor by temporary actuation of the switch which during actuation, oscillation of current and voltage is provided by a first circuit formed by the capacitor and the inductor, maintain the energy storage device temperature within a given temperature range through oscillation of the ions due to high frequency oscillation of a second circuit formed by the capacitor and the internal inductance of the energy storage device following termination of the actuation, and repeat the temporary reactuation of the switch to maintain the energy storage device temperature within the given temperature range, and wherein the controller is configured to maintain the energy storage device within the prescribed temperature range when the energy storage device is not being used and is configured to maintain the energy storage device within the operational temperature range when the energy storage device is being used.
11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to discontinue the reactuation of the switch when the temperature is above the upper prescribed temperature limit when the energy storage device is not in use and is configured to discontinue the reactuation of the switch when the temperature is above the upper operational temperature limit when the energy storage device is in use.
12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to provide a user interface to receive an indication of when the electrical platform is to be used and is configured to bring the temperature of the energy storage device to the operational temperature range when the electrical platform is indicated to be used.
13 . The device of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to provide the user interface to receive an indication that the energy storage device is not going to be used for a long duration and in response to the indication, the controller is configured to maintain the energy storage device temperature within a storage temperature range through the high frequency oscillation of the second circuit following termination of the actuation, wherein the storage temperature range is a lower temperature range than the prescribed temperature range.
14 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to provide a user interface to receive an indication to enable and disable operation of the device.
15 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to provide a duration of the temporary actuation to be at least equal to one quarter of the oscillation of the current or the voltage of the first circuit, and is equal or less than one half of the oscillation of the current or the voltage of the first circuit.
16 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to repeat the temporary actuation prior to voltage across the capacitor steadying to a voltage of the energy storage device.
17 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the inductor is a first inductor, the device comprising a second inductor, wherein the first coupling is coupled to the energy storage device serially through the second inductor to adjust the high frequency to a determined frequency.
18 . The device of claim 11 , comprising a low pass filter for coupling between the device and the electrical platform, the low pass filter being configured to reduce current reaching the electrical platform due to the high frequency oscillation to below a predetermined threshold.
19 . The device of claim 11 , comprising a low pass filter for coupling between the device and a charger for the energy storage device, the low pass filter being configured to reduce current reaching the charger due to the high frequency oscillation to below a predetermined threshold.
20 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the energy storage device is one of a battery or a super capacitor.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Field The present disclosure relates generally to energy storage devices, such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors, more particularly to methods and programmable apparatus for maintaining the batteries of electrically powered vehicles and other fixed or mobile platforms at their optimal charging and operational temperature range. 2. Prior Art Electric powered vehicles are becoming more popular and widespread. Cars are not the only type of vehicles that can be an electric powered vehicle. For example, buses, trucks, lift-trucks, boats, locomotives, airplanes and heavy-duty vehicles are also available as electric powered vehicles. Electric vehicles are usually powered by an electrical energy storage system. The energy storage system here being defined as any kind of battery, battery pack or series of batteries for powering the electric vehicle. It is appreciated that for practical reasons, it is important that the electrical energy storage system has a long lifetime, i.e., a large number of charge/discharge cycles be possible before the cells fail to operate satisfactorily. Keeping the electrical energy storage system in an optimal temperature range is essential to maximizing its lifetime. The performance of batteries and super-capacitors is significantly reduced at low temperatures. This is the case for both primary and rechargeable batteries. In addition, current lithium-ion, Lithium-polymer and other similar battery technology does not allow battery charging at temperatures below zero degrees c. and charging at temperatures below their optimal level has been shown to reduce battery life. In addition, at lower than their optimal temperature range of operation, batteries cannot provide their maximum available power to the system that is being powered. Electrical energy storage systems which are cold would take a lot of energy and time to heat to the working temperature above the minimum optimal operating range of their batteries. Therefore, it is essential to preheat these electrical energy storage systems using external power sources to ensure that the maximum amount of electrical energy is available for the electrically powered vehicle operation. Current solutions that try to address cold weather effects on batteries include heating the exterior of the battery by integrating “heaters” into the battery compartment or using heating blankets, or recently by embedding heating elements inside the batteries. A newly developed method and related devices has the advantage of rapidly and efficiently heating the battery electrolyte directly using appropriately formed high frequency AC currents. The methods and devices take advantage of the electrical characteristics of the batteries and super-capacitors to heat the electrolyte directly and very rapidly to its optimal operating temperature without causing any damage as described in the following U.S. Patents, U.S. Patent Application Publications and U.S. Patent Application, each of which being incorporated herein in their entirety by Reference: 10,063,076; 10,855,085; 11,211,809; 11,211,810; 11,594,908; 12,074,301; 12,354,797; 12,381,044; 12,360,541; 2020/0176998; 2023/0344029; 2023/0359231; 2024-0136616 and Ser. No. 18/244,275. The high frequency AC current electrolyte heating units may be externally powered, even at very low battery temperatures. However, once the battery is warm enough to provide enough power, the battery temperature may be raised to its optimal level and maintained at that level by power from the battery itself. The battery may be fully charged or discharged as it is heated. The high frequency AC current electrolyte heating units are inherently highly efficient and safe and can be readily integrated into the battery safety and protection circuitry and battery chargers. The following are some of the main characteristics of the high frequency AC current electrolyte heating methods and devices: It requires no modification to the battery.The basic physics of the process and extensive tests clearly show no damage to the battery and super-capacitor.The battery pack protection electronic units, such as those for Lithium-ion and Lithium-polymer batteries, can still ensure continuous high-performance operation at low temperatures.The battery electrolyte is directly and uniformly heated, therefore bringing a very cold battery to its optimal operating temperature very rapidly and minimizing heat loss from the battery.Direct electrolyte heating requires significantly less electrical energy than external heating such as with the use of heating blankets.Standard sized Li-ion or Li-polymer batteries can be used instead of thin and flat battery stack packaging to accelerate external heating via heating blankets or the like.The technology is simple to implement and low-cost. It is appreciated that it is highly desirable to develop methods and devices that can utilize the above high-frequency direct battery electrolyte technology and provid