Battery pack heating apparatus and method of battery pack heating control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11021064-B2
Application number	US-201916289436-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2019
Priority date	May 22, 2018
Publication date	Jun 1, 2021
Grant date	Jun 1, 2021

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a battery pack heating apparatus. The battery pack heating apparatus is applicable portably and externally to a vehicle and includes: an electrical energy conversion component, including an energy storage device, a first set of switches and a second set of switches; a heating interface component including a plurality of heating interfaces connected to the energy storage device via the first set of switches to form a first heating loop and connected to the energy storage device via the second set of switches to form a second heating loop, each of the plurality of heating interfaces being configured to be connected to a battery pack of one vehicle; and a heating control module configured to control a direction of electrical energy transfer between the electrical energy conversion component and the battery pack.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery pack heating apparatus, applicable portably and externally to a vehicle, comprising:
an electrical energy conversion component, comprising an energy storage device, a first set of switches and a second set of switches;
a heating interface component comprising a plurality of heating interfaces connected to the energy storage device via the first set of switches to form a first heating loop and connected to the energy storage device via the second set of switches to form a second heating loop, each of the plurality of heating interfaces being configured to be connected to a battery pack of one vehicle; and
a heating control module configured to control a direction of electrical energy transfer between the electrical energy conversion component and the battery pack.

2. The battery pack heating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating interface component further comprises:
a plurality of main loop switch devices connected in series to the plurality of heating interfaces, any two neighboring main loop switch devices having one heating interface connected therebetween and any two neighboring heating interfaces having one main loop switch device connected therebetween, a positive connection terminal of the heating interface component being a terminal of the plurality of main loop switch devices that is directly connected with none of the plurality of heating interfaces, and a negative connection terminal of the heating interface component being a terminal of the plurality of heating interfaces that is directly connected with none of the plurality of main loop switch devices,
wherein each of the plurality of main loop switch devices is configured to disable an electrical energy transfer between the battery pack heating apparatus and the battery pack in case of an abnormality.

3. The battery pack heating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the first set of switches comprises a first switch device and a second switch device connected to two terminals of the energy storage device, respectively, and the first set of switches, the energy storage device and the heating interface component are electrically connected to form the first heating loop, and
the second set of switches comprises a third switch device and a fourth switch device connected to two terminals of the energy storage device, respectively, and the second set of switches, the energy storage device and the heating interface component are electrically connected to form the second heating loop.

4. The battery pack heating apparatus of claim 3 , wherein
the first switch device has a first terminal connected to a first terminal of the energy storage device and a second terminal electrically connected to a positive plate of the heating interface component,
the second switch device has a first terminal connected to a second terminal of the energy storage device and a second terminal electrically connected to a negative plate of the heating interface component,
the third switch device has a first terminal connected to a third terminal of the energy storage device and a second terminal electrically connected to the positive plate of the heating interface component, and
the fourth switch device has a first terminal connected to a fourth terminal of the energy storage device and a second terminal electrically connected to the negative plate of the heating interface component.

5. The battery pack heating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a current detector having a first terminal connected to a negative connection terminal of the first set of switches and a negative connection terminal of the second set of switches and a second terminal connected to a negative plate of the heating interface component, and configured to detect a current value of the first heating loop or the second heating loop,
wherein the heating control module is further configured to obtain the current value detected by the current detector, so as to determine whether an abnormality has occurred based on the current value.

6. The battery pack heating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a protection circuit comprising a plurality of switch protection components and a protection capacitor component,
wherein each of the plurality of switch protection components is connected in parallel with one switch device of the first set of switches or the second set of switches, and configured to reduce a loss or avoid a damage during a switch-off process of the one switch device, and
the protection capacitor component comprises one or more capacitors, and the protection capacitor component is connected in parallel with the first heating loop and the second heating loop and configured to avoid a voltage peak when the first set of switches or the second set of switches is switched on.

7. The battery pack heating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of heating interfaces is a charging gun.

8. A method of battery pack heating control, applied in the battery pack heating apparatus according to claim 1 and performed by the heating control module, the method comprising:
detecting a connection state between each of the plurality of heating interfaces in the heating interface component and the battery pack;
obtaining security detection information for the battery pack in a fully connected state; and
controlling an on/off state of the first set of switches and an on/off state of the second set of switches in response to the security detection information for the battery pack being normal, such that at least one heating sub-cycle is performed in a heating process for the battery pack until a predetermined heating condition is met,
wherein the method comprises, in each heating sub-cycle:
switching on the first set of switches and switching off the second set of switches, such that a first electrical energy transfer is conducted between the energy storage device and the battery pack via the heating interface component; and
switching off the first set of switches and switching on the second set of switches in response to a predetermined electrical energy transfer condition being met, such that a second electrical energy transfer is conducted between the energy storage device and the battery pack via the heating interface component,
wherein each of the first electrical energy transfer and the second electrical energy transfer is charging or discharging and the first electrical energy transfer and the second electrical energy transfer have different directions.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
performing a step of switching on the first set of switches and switching off the second set of switches in a next heating sub-cycle in response to the predetermined electrical energy transfer condition being met.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the predetermined electrical energy transfer condition comprises:
a predetermined energy storage ratio threshold or energy release threshold of the energy storage device being met; or
a predetermined electrical energy transfer time length being reached, the predetermined electrical energy transfer time length comprising a discharging time length of the energy storage device and a charging time length of the energy storage device.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the predetermined electrical energy transfer condition comprises:
a predetermined energy storage ratio threshold or energy release threshold of the energy storage device being met; or
a predetermined electrical energy transfer time length being reached, the predetermined electrical energy transfer time length comprising a discharging time length of the energy storage device and a charging time length of the energy st

Assignees

• Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd

Inventors

• Dan Zhimin
• Zuo Xiyang
• Zhang Wei
• Hou Yizhen
• Lu Wenbin
• Wu Xingyuan
• Zhu Taosheng

Classifications

• H02J2105/30

  the load networks being external to vehicles, i.e. exchanging power with vehicles · CPC title

• H02J7/64

  against overvoltage · CPC title

• H02J7/62

  against overcurrent · CPC title

• H02J7/50

  acting upon multiple batteries simultaneously or sequentially · CPC title

• H02J7/60

  including safety or protection arrangements · CPC title