GB2545699A - Smart lead acid battery module - Google Patents
Smart lead acid battery module Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2545699A GB2545699A GB1522657.4A GB201522657A GB2545699A GB 2545699 A GB2545699 A GB 2545699A GB 201522657 A GB201522657 A GB 201522657A GB 2545699 A GB2545699 A GB 2545699A
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- battery module
- lead acid
- acid battery
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- battery
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/48—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/06—Lead-acid accumulators
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/06—Lead-acid accumulators
- H01M10/12—Construction or manufacture
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/425—Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing
- H01M10/4257—Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/48—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte
- H01M10/482—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/48—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte
- H01M10/484—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte for measuring electrolyte level, electrolyte density or electrolyte conductivity
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/48—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte
- H01M10/486—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte for measuring temperature
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/48—Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte
- H01M10/488—Cells or batteries combined with indicating means for external visualization of the condition, e.g. by change of colour or of light density
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/425—Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing
- H01M2010/4271—Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M10/00—Secondary cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M10/42—Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells
- H01M10/425—Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing
- H01M2010/4278—Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02E60/10—Energy storage using batteries
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
- Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Electrochemistry (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)
- Secondary Cells (AREA)
Abstract
A lead acid battery module 10 comprises a sensor 30 for sensing at least one parameter indicative of an operating condition of the lead acid battery module, and battery management circuitry, which may be in the form of a microprocessor 35, operable to generate a management signal in response to an output received from the sensor. A power supply system comprising a plurality of battery modules, at least one of which comprises such an intelligent module 10, is also claimed. The battery module 10 may also include an isolating switch 20, which may be provided in an open, closed or bypass mode, which switch is operated by a signal from the battery management system 35. A data store 40 for sensed data, and an indicator 60 for indicating a current state of the battery module 10, may also be provided. The at least one parameter preferably comprises at least one of temperature, charging current, output current, voltage, time period for which the battery module is operational or being charged, specific gravity of the electrolyte, and conductance. The battery module 10 may also include communication circuitry (55, figs 2 & 3) for communication between battery modules.
Description
SMART LEAD ACID BATTERY MODULE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Aspects and embodiments relate to an improved lead acid battery module and a power supply system including a plurality of such modules.
BACKGROUND
Lead acid batteries are a mature technology and provide a reliable, robust and safe means of providing electrical energy to devices. They may be used as a backup energy supply when, for example, a grid or generator power supply is unavailable. For example, they may be used to supply backup power for remote locations such as mobile telephone base stations which maybe powered by a power source such as solar or wind that may not be continuously available. Although lead acid batteries may be more robust than some more modern chemical cell technologies their lifetime can be significantly reduced by misuse. Although misuse may shorten a battery module’s lifetime it may be difficult to detect that it has occurred which makes it difficult for manufacturer’s to determine a reason for a battery module’s failure and to guarantee a lifetime for such battery modules.
Thus, although highly reliable lead acid battery modules can be manufactured, it is difficult for the manufacturers to determine when one fails the reason for the failure. This inhibits them from diagnosing the fault and also from providing the batteries with warranties as even highly reliable robust lead acid battery modules can be destroyed through misuse and without evidence of the misuse the reason for the failure cannot be conclusively determined.
Furthermore, as the usage of the lead acid battery and environment it is exposed to, can significantly affect its lifetime and performance having little knowledge of this makes the current status of a lead acid battery hard to determine.
Aspects and embodiments seek to address at least some of the issues outlined above. SUMMARY A first aspect of the present invention provides, a lead acid battery module, said lead acid battery module comprising: a sensor for sensing at least one parameter indicative of an operating condition of said lead acid battery module; and battery management circuitry operable to generate a management signal in response to an output received from said sensor.
The inventor of the present invention recognised that although conventionally lead acid batteries have not been provided with any control or management circuitry as they do not require the careful control of other battery technologies and nor do they have the same safety issues, there may be circumstances where a sensor and some management circuitry might be advantageous. Furthermore, low cost sensors and processors are available and thus, their addition to a lead acid battery module would not unduly raise the cost of such a module and could provide significant advantages. In this regard, the ability to sense parameters and to provide basic management of the battery module in response to these sensed parameters could help avoid misuse and/ or provide information regarding the occurrence of such misuse. Furthermore, as these devices are part of the battery module within the outer housing of the module they are both protected and tamper resistant.
In some embodiments, said battery module further comprises: terminals; at least one cell and an isolating switch operable to isolate said at least one cell from at least one of said terminals; wherein said management signal comprises a signal for controlling said isolating switch.
The management circuitry may be configured to generate management signals to control an isolating switch operable to isolate the cell(s) of the battery module from the terminal(s) and therefore from any circuitry to which the battery module is connected. This switch maybe a mechanical switch such as a relay, or a solid state switch. It can be used to isolate the cells of the battery module from any external circuit(s) when such isolation may be required to protect the cell(s) of the battery module from damage. Examples of where lead acid cells may be damaged occur when the battery is used to drive a load when it has very little charge and also when the cells are charged at too low a current or too high a voltage. A simple sensor that can sense the charged state of the battery unit and/or the charging current and voltage can be used in conjunction with management circuitry responsive to this sensor to control an isolating switch to protect the cells from such misuse.
Although the isolating switch may simply be a two state switch which either connects or isolates the cells from at least one of the terminals in some embodiments, said isolating switch comprises three operational states, an open state in which said isolating switch isolates said at least one cell from said at least one of said terminals, a closed state in which said isolating switch connects said at least one of said terminals to said at least one cell, and a bypass state in which said isolating switch connects said at least one of said terminals to an other of said terminals. A switch with a third bypass state may be useful where the battery modules are arranged in series, as this allows a battery module to be removed from the power supply system without the battery modules in series with it also being disconnected.
In some embodiments, the lead acid battery further comprises: a data store; wherein said management signal comprises a storage signal indicating said data store should store data regarding a sensed operating condition of said lead acid battery module.
As noted previously, although highly reliable lead acid battery modules can be manufactured, it is difficult for the manufacturers to determine when one fails the reason for the failure. Although the analysis of battery modules can be done to some extent by disassembly and chemical analysis this is very expensive, and can only be performed in labs with returned product etc. Providing a battery module with management circuitry and a data store enables large volumes of batteries to be interrogated in the field or a warehouse very quickly. This allows such batteries to be provided with warranties as even highly reliable robust lead acid battery modules can be destroyed through misuse and without evidence of the misuse the reason for the failure cannot easily be determined.
Providing a lead acid battery with an internal sensor, some management circuitry and a data store, allows the battery module to collect and record data relevant to the lead acid battery’s operating conditions. Were a battery module to fail, this information could be used to diagnose a cause of any such failure. Furthermore, by providing such circuitry as part of the battery module, this circuitry is available on all such modules and is not easily accessible making it tamper resistant such that evidence of misuse cannot be easily hidden.
By providing the management circuitry, sensor and data store within the battery module their separation from each other is inhibited, ensuring that the battery module has a complete history of its usage. This history is always available from the battery module, so that if it is removed from a system for use in another system or at the end of its life, the data can be retrieved from the module allowing the previous usage and/or state of heath, working capacity or other data to be retrieved and where appropriate analysed. Where battery management circuitry is part of the power supply management system then any logging data remains with that system and a battery module removed from the system has no record of its usage associated with it. This history can include its history during storage which does not place an undue burden on the battery module provided that very low power occasional logging of the parameters occurs.
In some embodiments, said module further comprises: an indicator configured to indicate a current status of said battery module; wherein said management signal comprises a signal for controlling said indicator.
In addition to or as an alternative to storing data regarding use of the battery the management circuitry may also control an indicator to indicate a current status of the battery module and in particular, where the detected status is one that may indicate that intervention by service personnel is required. This may occur where the battery is in storage and it is detected that a refresh charge should be performed. Alternatively, it may occur where the recorded use or misuse of a battery indicates that only a short remaining lifetime or a reduced performance is to be expected for that battery module. In this way this indicator could be used by service personnel to identify battery modules that are likely to fail, underperform and/or require a refresh charge, which enables them to replace them or recharge them as required. The indicator may take the form of an LED or something similar, alternatively it may be an indicator that becomes active in response to a user interrogation perhaps by the pushing of a button, thereby avoiding undue use of the battery to power the indicator when in storage. In other embodiments the indicator may take the form of a very low power device such as LCD or epaper.
Although the parameters sensed might be a number of things, in some embodiments the at least one parameter comprises at least one of: temperature, charging current, output current, voltage, time period during which said battery module is operational, time period during which said battery module is charged.
As noted above a lead acid battery can be damaged by use with too low a charge and by charging to at too low a charging current or too high a voltage. Thus, a voltage and/or output current and a charging current are useful parameters to monitor in the protection of the cells. Other parameters that affect both the cell’s operation and lifetime such as time period of charging, time period of use and temperature may also be recorded. High temperatures may damage the battery module and thus, determining these and recording the data and/or changing operation may be advantageous. The time the battery is used for and the time that it is charged for can also be used in the management of the batteiy1 s operation and in the prediction of its remaining lifetime. Other parameters that may provide useful information regarding the current status of the battery module include specific gravity of the electrolyte and conductance and thus, in some embodiments providing a sensor to sense one or more of these can also be advantageous.
One or more of the above parameters may be recorded periodically, say every 15 minutes during the lifetime of the batteiy module, providing a comprehensive record of its use. Alternatively and/or additionally in some embodiments, said batteiy management circuitry is operable to generate said management signal in response to at least one of said at least one parameter passing a predetermined value.
When the at least one parameter passes a predetermined value, for example a time of operation may be exceeded, a temperature such as a safe operating temperature may be exceeded, a minimum charge current may not be met, or a voltage may drop below a certain level this may be a trigger for the management circuitry to generate a management signal, which may be used to record this occurrence and/or to control the operation of the battery module by controlling an isolating switch for example to halt the loading of or charging of the batteiy module under these conditions. This can help record and/or avoid misuse. It may also be used in conjunction with the management circuitry to allow the battery module to calculate the state of charge or state of health of the battery module in the light of the detected conditions, which information may be stored and/or output.
Where the management circuitry controls an isolating switch in response to the detected parameter passing a predetermined value then when the sensor detects that the detected condition no longer applies, the management circuitry may control the isolating switch to reconnect the cells to the terminal. In some cases the predetermined parameter limit used for reconnection maybe different to that used for isolation, while in other embodiments it may be the same.
In some embodiments, said battery management circuitry further comprises communication circuitry configured to communicate with one or more further battery modules forming part of a same power supply system as said lead acid battery module.
In some circumstances the battery module may comprise some form of communication circuitry allowing it to communicate with other battery modules within a same power system. This communication circuitry may be in the form of an output that connects with a wired connection to another battery module or it may be some form of wireless transmitter for communicating via a wireless communication technique such as: Blue Tooth®/ZigBee®/Wi-Fi®/near field communication. Alternatively it may be communication down the same cables that carry the power “powerline comms”.
Communication between battery modules maybe useful where the lead acid battery modules form part of a battery cluster that supplies backup power to a system. Where the cluster is formed from many battery modules then it may be that when controlling the charging or loading of the cluster the individual state of each module is relevant.
For example where there are many modules it maybe that when charging, the current available is too low to charge all modules together without adversely affecting their lifetime and thus, some decision should be made as to which modules should be charged when. Communication between modules enables information and control signals to be shared such that some type of more central control can be provided. Without this central control although the sensors on individual modules may ensure that they are not charged at too low a current or operate at too low a voltage, they will simply be switched out of the system when these levels are detected and the use of the charging circuit and/or loading of the driven circuits may be sub-optimal. Allowing a more central control allows the modules that are being charged and the modules driving a load to be selected to provide an improved power system.
In some embodiment said battery management circuitry is operable to generate a management signal in response to a signal received at said communication circuitry'.
Where the battery module is able to communicate with other battery modules within the same power supply system then it may be advantageous if the management circuitry is configured to generate management signals not just in response to signals from a sensor but also in response to signals received at the communication circuitry. This allows a form of central control of the battery cluster, with the battery module able to perform management actions not just in response to information sensed by its own sensor but also in response to information or management signals received from other modules or in some cases from some supervisory power supply control circuitry.
In some embodiments, said battery communication circuitry is operable to transmit signals indicative of at least one of said at least one parameter to at least one of said further battery modules.
Where some centralised control may be advantageous then the sharing of sensor readings between modules can be advantageous when determining management actions such as which battery modules should be connected to a circuit at a particular time and which should be isolated. In this regard if the charging current is insufficient to charge all battery modules at a same time, a current charge status of each module could be used to prioritise modules within a charging sequence.
In some embodiments, said battery management circuitry is operable to receive at least one signal indicative of at least one of said at least one parameter from at least one further battery module and to generate at least one management signal in response to said received signal.
Where the signals received relate to parameters of another battery module this may be used in conjunction with data received from its own sensor to generate management signals. Thus, where for example the management signal involves the isolation or connection of a module to a circuit, the relative status of its own cells compared to those of other battery modules can be used in the decision of which module is to be charged and/or which is to supply the load with power.
In some embodiments, said at least one parameter comprises at least one of a charging current, a voltage and a charging time and said management signal comprises a signal to control an isolating switch for isolating cells within a battery module from at least one terminal.
Where it is not practical to charge all modules together some priority scheme must be devised for their charging and the length of time they have already been charged along with the charging current or their current charged status maybe relevant to this decision. Having battery management circuitry available within a battery module allows such coordinated control to occur. Furthermore, it allows particular charging schemes to be adopted. For example, in some cases it maybe deemed advantageous to charge the modules individually with a high charge current such that the charging of each module is performed within a shorter period of time. The battery management circuitry could be configured to do this and act to control the isolation switches of the modules to allow for sequential fast charging of each battery module. This may be advantageous where it is important that at least one battery module is available for use again within a short period of time. Furthermore, to get maximum cycle life some lead acid batteries require a charge current of > Cio, so this fast sequential charging can help with this too and thereby improve the lifetime of the battery module.
In some embodiments, said communication circuitry is operable to output said management signal to one of said further battery modules.
Where the management circuitry generates a management signal this may be to control itself and/or it may be to control at least one other battery module within the cluster. A second aspect of the present invention provides, a power supply system comprising a plurality of modules at least one of said modules comprising a lead acid battery module according to a first aspect of the present invention.
In some embodiments the power supply system may comprises a single smart lead acid battery according to an embodiment used in conjunction with other lead acid battery modules which do not have management circuitry. In other embodiments the power supply system may include a plurality of smart lead acid battery modules according to embodiments, which where they have communication circuitry can provide additional advantages allowing some central control. In other embodiments the power supply system may be a hybrid power supply system comprising smart lead acid batteries and battery modules of other chemistries which in some cases may also have communication and management circuitry. Where this is the case some form of central control may be provided by the battery modules with them communicating sensed data and control signals with each other. In such a case the initial handshake signals when a battery module is added to the system should include identifying information identifying the type of battery module such that the preferred charging times and currents can be selected.
Further particular and preferred aspects are set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. Features of the dependent claims maybe combined with features of the independent claims as appropriate, and in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims.
Where an apparatus feature is described as being operable to provide a function, it will be appreciated that this includes an apparatus feature which provides that function or which is adapted or configured to provide that function.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described further, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a lead acid battery module according to an embodiment;
Figure 2 shows a lead acid battery module according to a further embodiment; and Figure 3 shows a backup power supply system formed of a plurality of lead acid battery modules according to an embodiment
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 schematically shows a lead acid battery pack with lead acid cells 50, and two external terminals 12 and 14 for connection to external circuits, which maybe load circuits powered by the battery pack or may be charging circuits for charging the battery pack.
In addition to the terminals and cells the lead acid battery pack comprises management circuitry 35 in the form of a microprocessor. This receives input signals from a sensor 30 and outputs control signals to a data store 40 and/or an isolating switch 20. Management circuitry 35 also output signals to indicator 60. As can be seen the management circuitry 35, data store 40, switch 20 and sensor 30 are all mounted within the battery module housing, which has the advantage of making this circuitry inaccessible and providing it with the protection of the robust housing.
Although lead acid batteries are robust their lifetime can be shortened if they are operated under certain conditions and thus, it is preferable if these conditions are avoided or at least impeded and where they do occur if some record of their occurrence can be kept.
Thus, in this embodiment the lead acid battery pack 10 has a sensor 30 for sensing various operating conditions of the battery pack. These include, the charging current, the voltage of the cells, the output current of the cells, the time of charging, the time of operation and the temperature. In this regard lead acid batteries are degraded where they are charged at a low current and also where they operate when they are almost fully discharged. Their lifetime can also be shortened by operations at a high temperature and by not fully charging the cells.
In order to mitigate this type of potential misuse the battery management circuitry 35 is in some embodiments configured to react to the sensor 30 sensing certain parameters passing predetermined limits. Thus, it may detect the charging current being below an accepted minimum value and in response to this it may control isolating switch 20 to isolate the cells 50 from terminal 12 and thus, from the charging circuit. This will avoid charging occurring at too low a current.
The battery management circuitry 35 may also be configured to detect the output voltage falling below a minimum value when the battery pack 10 is driving a load and to control the switch 20 to isolate the cells 50 from the terminal 12 and thereby remove the battery pack from the load and avoid it becoming damaged by operation at too low a charge.
In addition to or as an alternative to controlling the connection and isolation of the battery module from the external circuits, the batteiy management circuitry 35 may control the storage of data sensed by the sensor 30 in data store 40. Thus, the usage and charge cycles of the battery module may be stored in the data store, along with instances where the temperature has risen above or fallen below a predetermined level. The storage of data maybe periodic, or it maybe limited to instances where the batteiy module has operated at conditions that are outside of predetermined limits, so for example, instances where a low charge current has been used, or instances where a charging cycle has been interrupted so the pack was not fully charged.
In some embodiments the battery management circuitry may use the stored data to estimate the remaining lifetime of the battery pack and where it has fallen below a certain value may trigger a warning indicator 60 indicating that the battery module is expected to fail in the next few months for example. Such an indicator may also be used for batteries in storage as an indication that they need a refresh charge.
The information stored in data store 40 may also be downloaded from the battery pack for analysis elsewhere. This maybe helpful in diagnosing why a battery pack may have failed prematurely and also in determining whether the conditions of a warranty have been adhered to.
Figure 2 shows a further embodiment, where the battery module 15 further comprises communication circuitry 55 allowing it to transmit and receive signals to and from other battery modules that are located close to the battery module and form part of a same power supply system. This is a more complex arrangement but does allow for some form of central control. Where the number of battery modules used within a power supply system is large, their concurrent charging at a sufficiently high charge current may not be possible. In such systems the charging of the battery modules needs some form of control. This control has conventionally been provided by the charging system, however, where a battery module is provided with some form of management circuitry, then moving such control to the battery module itself can be done without undue additional cost and can provide a solution to the charging problem that is independent of the system into which the battery module is inserted.
One further difference between this embodiment and that of Figure 1 is that the isolating switch 20 has three possible positions, a position in which terminal 12 is isolated from the cells 50 and from terminal 14, a position in which terminal 12 is connected to the cells 50 and an additional third position in which terminal 12 is isolated from the cells 50 but not from terminal 14. This third position allows a current received at terminal 12 to be output at terminal 14 and this may be useful where the battery module is in series with other modules, such that isolating it from an external circuit would isolate all modules from that circuit unless this configuration possibility is provided.
In this embodiment battery module 15 includes near field communication circuitry which is operable to transmit and receive signals. It can transmit signals from sensor 30 and can receive signals from other sensors on other battery modules. It may also transmit control signals from management circuitry 35. The signals transmitted include an initial handshake signal that the battery module transmits on connection to the power supply, the signal identifying the battery module’s presence and indicating that it has connected to the power supply. In response to receipt of this signal other battery modules will advertise their presence and one battery module will indicate that it is to be the master battery module. Signals indicating readings from the sensors on the individual modules will then be transmitted from each module except the master module, and the master battery module will generate control signals from this data and will transmit control signals indicating the position that should be taken by the isolating switches 20 within the other modules. In this way the battery modules can control their connection or isolation form the external circuits in a coordinated manner.
In some embodiments communication circuitry 55 can also be used to download data such as usage data of the battery module from the data store 40. This download of data may be triggered by a user request, which may be transmitted from a user device that has wireless capability such as a phone or tablet. The battery management circuitry will respond to the signal to control the download of the requested data.
Figure 3 shows a plurality of battery modules 15, 70, 80, 90 similar to those shown in Figure 2, arranged in a power supply system. Power source control circuitry 110 controls the routing of energy received from energy source 120 to load 130 and/or to recharge battery modules 15, 70, 80, 90 within the battery cluster 170. The battery modules are arranged in parallel in this embodiment, although they could be arranged in series or in a combination of the two.
Each battery module has communication circuitry 55 which allows near field communication between the different modules. In this embodiment battery module 15 acts as a master battery module and communication circuitry 55 on battery module 15 receives signals from the battery management circuitry 35 of each of the other battery modules indicative of parameters measured by sensors 30 on these modules. In particular, signals are sent indicating when a charging of a battery module has started, what its initial charge status is and what the charging current the battery module is receiving is. Where the charging current is below a minimum level, battery management circuitry 35 on battery module 15 will determine which of the modules has the lowest current charge level and will prioritise that module and transmit control signals to at least one other battery module that is currently connected to the charging circuit indicating that it should isolate itself from the charge circuit. Battery management circuitry 35 on the battery module receiving this signal will control the isolating switch 20 to isolate its cells from the charging circuitry and thereby increase the charging current sent to the other battery modules currently connected to the charging circuitry. As in this embodiment the cells are connected in parallel, the isolating switch simply needs to isolate the cells from the terminal 12 and there is no need to connect terminals 12 and 14 to provide a route for charging current to a subsequent module as would be the case if they were connected in series. The decision of which battery modules to isolate will be made in dependence on the current charge status of each module and the charging current supplied to each module by the charging circuit. In this way the charging of the modules can be optimised taking into account the requirements of all modules and this is done using circuitry that is present on the battery modules themselves.
Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiment and that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims (16)
1. A lead acid battery module, said lead acid battery module comprising: a sensor for sensing at least one parameter indicative of an operating condition of said lead acid battery module; and battery management circuitry operable to generate a management signal in response to an output received from said sensor.
2. A lead acid battery module according to claim l, further comprising: terminals; an isolating switch operable to isolate said at least one cell from at least one of said terminals of said battery module; wherein said management signal comprises a signal for controlling said isolating switch.
3. A lead acid battery module according to claim 2, wherein said isolating switch comprises with three operational states, an open state in which said isolating switch isolates said at least one cell from said at least one of said terminals, a closed state in which said isolating switch connects said at least one of said terminals to said at least one cell, and a bypass state in which said isolating switch connects said at least one of said terminals to an other of said terminals.
4. A lead acid battery module according to any preceding claim, further comprising: a data store; wherein said management signal comprises a storage signal indicating said data store should store data regarding a sensed operating condition of said lead acid battery module.
5. A lead acid battery module according to any preceding claim, said module further comprising: an indicator configured to indicate a current status of said battery module; wherein said management signal comprises a signal for controlling said indicator.
6. A lead acid battery module according to any preceding claim, wherein said at least one parameter comprises at least one of: temperature, charging current, output current, voltage, time period during which said battery module is operational, time period during which said battery module is charged, specific gravity of electrolyte and conductance.
7. A lead acid battery module according to any preceding claim, wherein said battery management circuitry is operable to generate said management signal in response to at least one of said at least one parameter passing a predetermined value.
8. A lead acid battery module according to any preceding claim, wherein said battery management circuitry further comprises communication circuitry configured to communicate with one or more further battery modules forming part of a same power supply system as said lead acid battery module.
9. A lead acid battery module according to claim 8, wherein said battery management circuitry is operable to generate a management signal in response to a signal received at said communication circuitry.
10. A lead acid battery module according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein said communication circuitry is operable to transmit signals indicative of at least one of said at least one parameter to at least one of said further battery modules.
11. A lead acid battery module according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein said battery management circuitry is operable to receive at least one signal indicative of at least one of said at least one parameter from at least one further battery module and to generate a management signal in response to said received signal.
12. A lead acid battery module according to claim 11, wherein said at least one parameter comprises at least one of a charging current, a voltage and a charging time and said management signal comprises a signal to control an isolating switch for isolating cells within a battery module from at least one terminal.
13. A lead acid battery module according to claim 11 or 12, wherein said communication circuitry is operable to output said management signal to one of said further battery modules.
14. A power supply system comprising a plurality of modules at least one of said modules comprising a lead acid battery module according to a preceding claim.
15. A lead acid battery module substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.
16. A power supply system module substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figure 3.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1522657.4A GB2545699A (en) | 2015-12-22 | 2015-12-22 | Smart lead acid battery module |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1522657.4A GB2545699A (en) | 2015-12-22 | 2015-12-22 | Smart lead acid battery module |
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| Publication Number | Publication Date |
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| GB201522657D0 GB201522657D0 (en) | 2016-02-03 |
| GB2545699A true GB2545699A (en) | 2017-06-28 |
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| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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| GB1522657.4A Withdrawn GB2545699A (en) | 2015-12-22 | 2015-12-22 | Smart lead acid battery module |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| CN114006060B (en) * | 2021-10-29 | 2023-07-07 | 蜂巢能源科技(无锡)有限公司 | Energy storage battery management system |
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| Publication number | Publication date |
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| GB201522657D0 (en) | 2016-02-03 |
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