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Not currently aware of relevant prior disclosures.
The general field of the invention is batteries and other forms of energy storage. The subject invention comprises a method and a circuit design to control a bi-stable contactor in such a way that contactor coils can be energized in the event of sudden and unexpected loss of battery power. The invention also includes a component redundancy scheme designed to survive any single component failure SHORT or OPEN.
Large electric batteries are used in energy storage systems in variety of applications such as grid stabilization, solar energy harvesting, off-grid house power, recreational vehicles and boats, etc. Such systems require management and safely controls to prevent unwanted release of energy, which could result in fire, explosion, property damage, bodily injury, etc. This control system is called Battery Management System (BMS). BMS is essentially an intelligent switch, designed to open battery circuit and prevent further charge or discharge of the battery in case unsafe conditions are detected by the BMS sensors.
Electro-mechanical contactors are still the most cost effective and reliable safety switching devices in large, high power battery systems compared with more expensive solid-state switches like FETs and IGBTs. However, classic Normally Open contactor has a major drawback, its coil consumption can be as high as 2 W, which contributes to idle loss of energy up to 1.5 k Wh per month. This can become a major design hurdle in some offline battery applications.
Bi-stable contactors have separate coils for SET (ON) and RESIST (OFF) and don't consume any energy in a stable ON or OFF state. To change the state brief pulse of electric current is applied to one of the coils. This resolves the idle load challenge, but presents a new challenge, how to open the contactor in a case of sudden loss of battery power, and how to design this control scheme with enough redundancy to qualify for UL1973/UL991 certification.
The subject invention comprises a method and a circuit design to control a bi-stable contactor in such a way that contactor coils can be energized in the event of sudden and unexpected loss of battery power. The invention also includes a component redundancy scheme designed to survive any single component failure SHORT or OPEN as required by industry safety standards UL1973 and UL991
With reference to
Electrolytic capacitors 6 and 7 are charged from the battery 1 through a pair of Schottky diodes 4 and 5 to prevent backflow of current in case of sudden loss of battery power. PTC fuses 8 and 9 protect from possible shorts circuits inside the capacitors. 6 and 7 are large electrolytic capacitors, each storing enough energy to change contactor 18 state at least two times in absence of battery power.
14, 15, 16, 17, 20, and 22 are high side and low side integrated FET power switches, which can be driven directly by CMOS signals from the MCU pins.
10, 12, 13, 14 are pull-ups. Their respective switches are normally active. These switches are closed when driver pin is disconnected or MCU power is lost. MCU control is required to keep the switches open during normal operation. In this scheme, the RESET coil 24 would immediately activate from energy stored in capacitors 6 and 7 in case battery power is lost unexpectedly.
19 and 21 are pull-downs. Their respective switches are normally inactive. These switches are open when driver pin is disconnected or MCU power is lost. This ensures SET coil 25 would not engage without MCU control.
All of the switches are connected to pins on the MCU. To switch the contactor to the on position MCU pins for switches 14, 15, 20, and 22 are briefly activated by the MCU software to energize SET coil. To switch the contactor into the off position MCU pins 14, 15, 16, and 17 are bristly activated by the MCU software to energize RESET coil 24.
This control scheme has redundant components in every circuit and can survive any single component failing SHORT or OPEN.
Not Applicable
This application claims priority to an earlier-filed provisional application No. 62512125, EFS ID #29333302
Number | Date | Country | |
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62512125 | May 2017 | US |