Power supply system for moving object, and aerial vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11945584-B2
Application number	US-202017755324-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 20, 2020
Priority date	Nov 21, 2019
Publication date	Apr 2, 2024
Grant date	Apr 2, 2024

Abstract

A plurality of energy storage packs supply a current to a plurality of motor driver that drive a plurality of motors mounted on moving object, respectively. Sub energy storage pack supplies a current to at least one of a plurality of first current paths connecting the plurality of motor driver and the plurality of energy storage packs, or pulls a current from at least one of the plurality of first current paths. Controller controls the plurality of first switches and the plurality of second switches to adjust capacities between the plurality of energy storage packs.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A power supply system for a moving object, the power supply system comprising:
a plurality of energy storage packs configured to respectively supply a current to a plurality of motor driver for driving a plurality of motors mounted on the moving object;
a sub energy storage pack configured to supply the current to at least one of a plurality of first current paths that are connected between the plurality of motor driver and the plurality of energy storage packs to pull the current from at least one of the plurality of first current paths;
a plurality of first switches respectively inserted in a plurality of second current paths that are connected between the plurality of first current paths and the sub energy storage pack;
a plurality of second switches respectively inserted between a plurality of connecting points on the plurality of the first current paths to which the plurality of second current paths are connected and the plurality of energy storage packs; and
a controller configured to adjust a balance in capacity among the plurality of energy storage packs by controlling the plurality of first switches and the plurality of second switches.

2. The power supply system for a moving object according to claim 1 , wherein a capacity of the sub energy storage pack is smaller than capacities of the plurality of energy storage packs.

3. The power supply system for a moving object according to claim 1 , wherein when a variation occurs in power consumption of the plurality of motors during movement of the moving object, the controller causes a first switch, that is inserted into a second current path connected to a motor including the power consumption larger than other motors among the plurality of motors to an ON state.

4. The power supply system for a moving object according to claim 1 , wherein during a period in which the moving object is stopped, the controller is configured to equalize the capacities of the plurality of energy storage packs by an active balance method.

5. The power supply system for a moving object according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of second current paths are coupled to each other and are connected to the sub energy storage pack, and
the power supply system for a moving object further includes a DC/DC converter between a node of the plurality of second current paths and the sub energy storage pack.

6. The power supply system for a moving object according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of second current paths are coupled to each other and are connected to the sub energy storage pack, and a charging path from an external charger is connected to a path between a node of the plurality of second current paths and the sub energy storage pack.

7. An aerial vehicle comprising:
a plurality of propellers;
a plurality of motors configured to respectively rotate the plurality of propellers;
a plurality of motor driver configured to respectively drive the plurality of motors;
a plurality of energy storage packs configured to respectively supply a current to the plurality of motor driver;
a sub energy storage pack configured to supply a current to at least one of a plurality of first current paths connecting the plurality of motor driver and the plurality of energy storage packs or to pull a current from at least one of the plurality of first current paths;
a plurality of first switches respectively inserted in a plurality of second current paths connecting the plurality of first current paths and the sub energy storage pack;
a plurality of second switches respectively inserted between a plurality of connecting points on the plurality of first current paths to which the plurality of second current paths are connected and the plurality of energy storage packs; and
a controller configured to adjust a balance of capacities between the plurality of energy storage packs by controlling the plurality of first switches and the plurality of second switches.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nagase Ryosuke
• Takeda Mutsuhiko

Classifications

• H02J7/855

  with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery · CPC title

• H02J7/56

  Active balancing, e.g. using capacitor-based, inductor-based or DC-DC converters · CPC title

• H02J2105/32

  for aircrafts · CPC title

• B64D35/08

  characterised by the transmission being driven by a plurality of power plants (for hybrid-electric power plants B64D35/022) · CPC title

• B64U10/14 Primary

  with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters · CPC title