Battery system and method for controlling a battery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12596154-B2
Application number	US-202217978387-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 1, 2022
Priority date	Nov 2, 2021
Publication date	Apr 7, 2026
Grant date	Apr 7, 2026

Abstract

A battery system including a number of first battery modules each including a number of battery cells, and a number of second battery modules each including a number of battery cells. Each second battery module includes a power electronics unit having a DC/DC converter. The first and second battery modules are connected in series. The first battery modules are connected directly in series and the second battery modules are connected via their power electronics units.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A battery system, comprising:
a number of first battery modules each comprising a number of battery cells; and a number of second battery modules each comprising a number of battery cells, wherein each second battery module comprises a power electronics unit having a DCDC converter, wherein one of the first battery modules is connected in series with one of the second battery modules, and wherein the first battery modules are connected directly in series with one another and the second battery modules are connected to one another via their respective power electronics units.

2 . The battery system according to claim 1 , wherein the first battery modules are comprised of high-energy cells and the second battery modules are comprised of high-power cells.

3 . The Battery system according to claim 1 , wherein the DCDC converters are operable in a buck mode, a boost mode, a path-through mode, a bypass mode and/or an off-mode.

4 . The battery system according to claim 1 , wherein the power electronics units comprise means to switch their respective module to a bypass mode, in which the module is not connected in series to other modules.

5 . The battery system according to claim 1 , further comprising a smart battery management system for controlling the power electronics units, the smart battery management system comprising
means for determining a state of charge and/or a temperature and/or a voltage drop across the modules; means for determining an optimum output voltage for each DCDC converter; and means for controlling the power electronics units by switching the DCDC converter in order to set its output voltage to the determined optimum output voltage.

6 . The battery system according to claim 1 , wherein each first battery module comprises a cell supervision circuit for battery balancing.

7 . An electric vehicle with a battery system according to claim 1 .

8 . A method for controlling a battery system according to claim 1 , comprising:
determining a state of charge and/or a temperature and/or a voltage drop across the module; determining an optimum output voltage for each DCDC converter; and controlling the power electronics units by switching the DCDC converter in order to set its output voltage to the determined optimum output voltage.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , further comprising:
if the determined optimum output voltage for a battery module is 0V, controlling the respective power electronics unit by switching the DCDC converter into a bypass mode.

10 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein all cells of a first battery module are balanced among each other and among the cells of other first battery modules, while the cells of a second battery module are only balanced among each other.

Assignees

• Vitesco Tech Gmbh
• Schaeffler Tech Ag & Co Kg

Inventors

• Ayad Ayman

Classifications

• H02J7/80

  including monitoring or indicating arrangements · CPC title

• H02J7/52 Primary

  for charge balancing, e.g. equalisation of charge between batteries · CPC title

• H02J2207/20

  Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter · CPC title

• B60L58/12

  responding to state of charge [SoC] · CPC title

• B60L58/22

  Balancing the charge of battery modules · CPC title