Looking for breakthrough ideas for innovation challenges? Try Patsnap Eureka!

Method and apparatus for controlling the voltage of electrochemical cells in a rechargeable battery

a technology of electrochemical cells and batteries, applied in the direction of batteries, instruments, transportation and packaging, etc., can solve the problems affecting the performance of the battery, etc., to achieve the effect of reducing the voltage across the terminal

Inactive Publication Date: 2004-12-16
SAFT GRP SA
View PDF1 Cites 25 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention provides a control apparatus for controlling the voltage of a battery made up of multiple modules, each containing at least one electrochemical cell. The control apparatus includes measurement means for determining the voltage across the modules, calculation means for measuring the overall voltage of the battery and determining the average voltage per module, and processor means for comparing the measured voltage of each module with the average and sending warning signals to balancing means when the measured voltage exceeds the average. The control apparatus can also include balancing elements associated with each module for balancing the voltage across the cells during charging, discharging, or rest. The invention also provides a method for controlling the voltage of a battery by measuring the voltage across the modules, determining the average voltage per module, and comparing the measured voltage of each module with the average. The technical effects of the invention include improved performance and efficiency of batteries with multiple modules, reduced voltage differences between modules, and improved balancing of the voltage across the cells.

Problems solved by technology

Consequently, that prior apparatus is suitable only for batteries having a small number of modules connected in series, typically fewer than eight (at greater numbers performance is generally degraded).
Other prior art apparatuses present the same drawback as that mentioned above and / or other drawbacks, such as for example, cost, complexity, or indeed power consumption.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0027] The accompanying drawings contribute not only to describing the invention, but may also contribute to defining it, where appropriate.

[0028] The invention relates to controlling the voltage of a rechargeable battery comprising at least two modules connected in series, with each module comprising at least one electrochemical cell.

[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the battery BAT comprises modules Mi (where i=1 to N, N not being less than 2; e.g. N=15), each module comprising an electrochemical cell Gi, e.g. a rechargeable lithium-ion (Li / Ion) type cell. However the invention also applies to batteries of modules Mi each comprising a plurality of electrochemical cells Gij connected in series and / or in parallel. Furthermore, the invention also applies to types of electrochemical cell other than lithium cells, and in particular it applies to silver / zinc cells and to polymer cells, and in general it applies to all batteries in which the various electrochemical cells need to pre...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

An apparatus is dedicated to controlling the voltage of a battery comprising at least two modules connected in series and each comprising at least one electrochemical cell, and each coupled to voltage balancing means. The apparatus comprises measurement means for determining first voltages across the terminals of each of the modules, calculation means for measuring a second voltage across the terminals of the battery and for determining a mean voltage per module representative of the second voltage divided by the number of modules, and processor means for comparing each measured first voltage with the mean voltage per module and for delivering to the balancing means signals representative of the result of the comparison whenever the first voltage of a module is greater than the mean voltage, such that the balancing means reduce the voltage across the terminals of the module.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to the field of batteries of electrochemical cells, and more particularly to the field of apparatus for controlling the voltage of the electrochemical cells in certain rechargeable batteries.[0002] As is known to the person skilled in the art, the voltage measured across the terminals of a battery depends on the state of charge of the electrochemical cells (also known as "secondary" or "rechargeable" cells, or even "accumulators") which constitute modules of the battery. The state of charge of the electrochemical cells is thus subject to continuous monitoring by voltage control apparatuses. More precisely, such apparatuses are designed to ensure that the electrochemical cells are not subjected to overcharging or to deep discharges that reduce battery performance, and above all that limit battery lifetime.[0003] This applies in particular to the voltage control apparatus described in patent document EP-0 691 725. That apparatus comprises n-1 regulators as...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): G01R31/36H02J7/00
CPCG01R31/362H02J7/0016G01R31/3835
Inventor PETITDIDIER, XAVIER
Owner SAFT GRP SA
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com