Control of device having multiple rechargeable packs with different capacities for optimal energy delivery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11052783-B2
Application number	US-201916433457-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2019
Priority date	Jun 6, 2019
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

System and method of controlling operation of a device having multiple rechargeable packs configured to store energy. The multiple rechargeable packs include at least one primary pack characterized by a first capacity and at least one auxiliary pack characterized by a second capacity, the first capacity being greater than the second capacity. A controller is configured to selectively command one or more of the multiple rechargeable packs to begin at least one of discharging and charging. When an estimated end of trip time is less than or equal to a discharging time of the at least one auxiliary pack, the discharging of the at least one auxiliary pack is begun. When the estimated end of trip time is greater than the discharging time, the discharging is delayed until the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack reaches a first threshold.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system of controlling a device with multiple rechargeable packs, the system comprising:
a controller configured to selectively command one or more of the multiple rechargeable packs to begin at least one of discharging and charging, each of the multiple rechargeable packs defining a respective state of charge;
wherein the multiple rechargeable packs include at least one primary pack characterized by a first capacity and at least one auxiliary pack characterized by a second capacity, the first capacity being greater than the second capacity;
wherein the controller includes a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory on which instructions are recorded, execution of the instructions by the processor causing the controller to:
obtain an estimated end of trip time based in part on information provided by a user;
determine a discharging time for the at least one auxiliary pack;
when the estimated end of trip time is greater than the discharging time, delay the discharging of the at least one auxiliary pack until the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack reaches a first threshold; and
when the estimated end of trip time is less than or equal to the discharging time, begin the discharging of the at least one auxiliary pack.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first threshold corresponds to the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack when a regeneration event is permitted; and
the regeneration event is characterized by an energy loss during a deceleration of the device being at least partially re-directed to the at least one primary pack.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first threshold is between 90% and 95%.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the multiple rechargeable packs are respectively configured as removable modules respectively having at least one of an energy transfer converter and a switch.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
selectively pause the discharging of the at least one auxiliary pack during a regeneration event, the regeneration event being characterized by an energy loss during a deceleration of the device being at least partially re-directed to the at least one primary pack.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the controller is configured to determine if the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack is less than or equal to the first threshold;
the controller is configured to employ a first discharge mode to discharge the at least one auxiliary pack when the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack is less than or equal to the first threshold; and
the first discharge mode is characterized by the respective state of charge of the at least one auxiliary pack tracking the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack to within a predefined percentage.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the controller is configured to determine if the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack is less than or equal to a second threshold;
the controller is configured to employ a second discharge mode to discharge the at least one auxiliary pack when the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack is less than or equal to the second threshold, the second threshold being less than the first threshold; and
the second discharge mode is characterized by a constant discharge rate selected such that a total discharge time of the at least one auxiliary pack is less than or equal to the total discharge time of the at least one primary pack.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the second threshold is between 10% and 15%.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
when the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack is greater than the first threshold, obtain a rate of change in the respective state of charge of the at least one auxiliary pack (dSOC A /dt) and the rate of change in an overall state of charge of the multiple rechargeable packs (dSOC O /dt); and
employ the second discharge mode to discharge the at least one auxiliary pack, when the rate of change in the overall state of charge (dSOC O /dt) is greater than the rate of change in the respective state of charge of the at least one auxiliary pack (dSOC A /dt).

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein obtaining the rate of change in the overall state of charge (dSOC O /dt) of the multiple rechargeable packs includes:
obtaining an estimated energy consumption for the multiple rechargeable packs based at least partially on a driving model of the user, via the controller; and
obtaining one or more correction factors based in part on the information selected by a user via a user interface, including a first correction factor for highway speed and a second correction factor for auxiliary load use.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising:
a plurality of sensors configured to obtain respective data, the plurality of sensors including at least one of a speed sensor, a brake pedal force sensor, an accelerator pedal force sensor and an inertial sensor; and
wherein the controller is programmed to store a plurality of statistical models of driving style and construct the driving model of the user by correlating the respective data with at least one of the plurality of statistical models of driving style.

12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a charging unit selectively connectable to and configured to charge at least one of the multiple rechargeable packs at a battery charging rate, the controller being further configured to:
determine the battery charging rate based in part on a time of day setting, a target charge level and a respective temperature of the multiple rechargeable packs, the target charge level being selected by the user;
determine an overall charging time for the multiple rechargeable packs and an auxiliary charging time for the at least one auxiliary pack; and
begin the charging the at least one auxiliary pack when the auxiliary charging time is greater than the overall charging time.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to:
command the charging of the at least one auxiliary pack to a predefined bulk rate;
obtain an additional cost for charging the at least one auxiliary pack from the predefined bulk rate to a maximum state of charge;
obtain a cost optimization point based in part on information provided by the user; and
when the additional cost is greater than the predefined cost optimization point, discontinue the charging of the at least one auxiliary pack at the charging unit.

14. A method of controlling operation of a device having multiple rechargeable packs, the device having a controller with a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory, the method comprising:
configuring the controller to selectively command one or more of the multiple rechargeable packs to begin at least one of discharging and charging, each of the multiple rechargeable packs defining a respective state of charge;
including at least one primary pack characterized by a first capacity and at least one auxiliary pack characterized by a second capacity in the multiple rechargeable packs, the first capacity being greater than the second capacity;
obtaining an estimated end of trip time based in part on information provided by a user, via the controller;
determining a discharging time for the at least one auxiliary pack, via the controller;
delaying the discharging of the at least one auxiliary pack until the respective state of charge of the at least one primary pack reaches a first thresho

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Gibbs James C
• Jones Brandon R
• Seeman Garrett M

Classifications

• H02J2105/37

  exchanging power with electric vehicles [EV] or with hybrid electric vehicles [HEV] · CPC title

• H02J7/92

  with prioritisation of loads or sources · CPC title

• H02J7/50

  acting upon multiple batteries simultaneously or sequentially · CPC title

• B60L58/18 Primary

  of two or more battery modules · CPC title

• B60L53/665 Primary

  Methods related to measuring, billing or payment · CPC title