Battery with cell balancing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10063082-B2
Application number	US-201113641666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 16, 2011
Priority date	Apr 16, 2010
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

A battery includes at least one battery module line, a sensor means for determining a charging stage of a battery cell, and a control unit. The battery module line includes a plurality of battery modules mounted in series, each module having at least one battery cell and a coupling unit. The at least one battery cell is mounted between a first input and a second input of the coupling unit, and the coupling unit is configured (i) to switch the at least one battery cell between a first terminal of the battery module and a second terminal of the battery module, on a first control signal, and (ii) to connect the first terminal to the second terminal on a second control signal. The sensor means is connectable to the at least one battery cell of each battery module.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A battery comprising:
at least one battery module line;
a sensor means configured to determine a state of charge of a battery cell; and
a control unit configured to output a first control signal and a second control signal,
wherein the at least one battery module line includes a multiplicity of battery modules which are connected in series, each battery module including a first terminal for connecting a first pole of the battery module to the battery module line, a second terminal for connecting a second pole of the battery module to the battery module line, at least one battery cell and a coupling unit for connecting the at least one battery cell between the first terminal and the second terminal,
wherein the sensor means is connectable to the at least one battery cell of each of the battery modules,
wherein the coupling unit has first input, a second input, a first output and a second output, the first input being connected to a first pole of the at least one battery cell associated with the coupling unit, the second input being connected to a second pole of the at least one battery cell associated with the coupling unit of the battery module associated with the coupling unit, the first output being connected the first terminal, the second output being connected to the second terminal of the battery module associated with the coupling unit,
wherein the coupling unit is configured to connect the first input to the first output, connect the second input to the second output and disconnect the first output from the second output in response to receiving the first control signal such that the first pole and the second pole of the at least one battery cell associated with the coupling unit are connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively, for the battery module associated with the coupling unit on the battery module line and the battery module associated with the coupling unit is connected in series to the battery module line, and
wherein the coupling unit is configured to disconnect the first input from the first output, disconnect the second input from the second output, and connect the first output to the second output of the battery module associated with the coupling unit in response to receiving the second control signal such that the first pole and the second pole of the at least one battery cell of the battery module associated with the coupling unit are disconnected from the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively, for the battery module and the first terminal and the second terminal are connected to each other, and
wherein the control unit is connected to the sensor means and is configured (i) to select a battery module whose at least one battery cell has a lowest monitored state of charge of all the battery modules of the battery module line, and (ii) to output the second control signal to the coupling unit of the selected battery module.

2. The battery as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sensor means includes a voltage measuring unit which is configured to determine a cell voltage of a battery cell or a voltage of a battery module.

3. The battery as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the sensor means also includes a temperature measuring unit which is configured to determine a cell temperature of the battery cell or a temperature of the battery module.

4. The battery as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the sensor means also includes a current measuring unit which is configured to determine a current of the at least one battery module line.

5. The battery as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the battery includes three of the battery module lines.

6. The battery as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one battery cell is a lithium-ion battery cell.

7. A motor vehicle comprising:
an electric drive motor configured to drive the motor vehicle; and
a battery connected to the electric drive motor, the battery including (i) at least one battery module line, (ii) a sensor means configured to determine a state of charge of a battery cell, and (iii) a control unit configured to output a first control signal and a second control signal,
wherein the at least one battery module line includes a multiplicity of battery modules which are connected in series, each battery module including a first terminal for connecting a first pole of the battery module to the battery module line, a second terminal for connecting a second pole of the battery module to the battery module line, at least one battery cell and a coupling unit for connecting the at least one battery cell between the first terminal and the second terminal,
wherein the sensor means is connectable to the at least one battery cell of each of the battery modules,
wherein the coupling unit has first input, a second input, a first output and a second output, the first input being connected to a first pole of the at least one battery cell associated with the coupling unit, the second input being connected to a second pole of the at least one battery cell associated with the coupling unit of the battery module associated with the coupling unit, the first output being connected the first terminal, the second output being connected to the second terminal of the battery module associated with the coupling unit,
wherein the coupling unit is configured to connect the first input to the first output, connect the second input to the second output and disconnect the first output from the second output in response to receiving the first control signal such that the first pole and the second pole of the at least one battery cell associated with the coupling unit are connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively, for the battery module associated with the coupling unit on the battery module line, and
wherein the coupling unit is configured to disconnect the first input from the first output, disconnect the second input from the second output, and connect the first output to the second output of the battery module associated with the coupling unit in response to receiving the second control signal such that the first pole and the second pole of the at least one battery cell associated with the coupling unit are disconnected from the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively, for the battery module associated with the coupling unit on the battery module line and the first terminal and the second terminal are connected to each other, and
wherein the control unit is connected to the sensor means and is configured (i) to select a battery module whose at least one battery cell has a lowest monitored state of charge of all the battery modules of the battery module line, and (ii) to output the second control signal to the coupling unit of the selected battery module.

Assignees

• Butzmann Stefan
• Fink Holger
• Samsung Sdi Co Ltd
• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Butzmann Stefan
• Fink Holger

Classifications

• H02J7/54

  Passive balancing, e.g. using resistors or parallel MOSFETs · CPC title

• H01M10/486

  for measuring temperature · CPC title

• H01M10/482

  for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title

• G01R31/36 Primary

  Arrangements for testing, measuring or monitoring the electrical condition of accumulators or electric batteries, e.g. capacity or state of charge [SoC] · CPC title