The present invention relates to backup power systems, and more particularly, to a modular backup power system including a plurality of smart battery packs in one or more racks.
Current customer premises power backup systems typically include a diesel engine electrical generator that provides direct AC power to the customer's premises, or alternatively, a bank of photovoltaic solar panels that are used to charge a bank of lead acid batteries that subsequently provide AC electricity through invertors that are connected to a premises distribution panel or junction box. Irrespective of the source of energy that is used to provide backup electrical power, whether from photovoltaic panels or from the utility grid, neither of these methods provides a particularly flexible use or implementation. Additionally, these solutions require a substantial financial expenditure up front in order to provide either a diesel backup engine or to provide the photovoltaic panels for generating the electricity in the bank of lead acid batteries for storing the energy. Thus, there is a need for a more cost effective and easier solution for providing backup power to a customer premises than those described herein above.
The present invention, as disclosed and described herein, in one aspect thereof, comprises a modular power backup system having a plurality of smart battery packs for storing electrical energy. Each of the plurality of smart battery packs includes a first power and control connector. A battery pack rack defines a plurality of slots for holding the plurality of smart battery packs. Each of the plurality of slots includes a second power and control connector for interconnecting with the first power and control connector of a smart battery pack of the plurality of smart battery packs. First control circuitry associated with the at least one battery pack rack selectively pools electrical energy from the plurality of smart battery packs into one or more electrical energy outputs.
For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers are used herein to designate like elements throughout, the various views and embodiments of modular grid power backup system are illustrated and described, and other possible embodiments are described. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in some instances the drawings have been exaggerated and/or simplified in places for illustrative purposes only. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the many possible applications and variations based on the following examples of possible embodiments.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
The implementation of the power storage backup system 100 of
The output interface of the front panel additionally provides for USB outlets 210. The USB outlets 210 enable the connection of a USB connector to charge a device through the USB outlet 210. The front interface of the smart battery pack 102 additionally includes a 15-volt DC connector 212. This enables 15-volt DC power to be provided to the battery pack 102. The DC input voltage of 15-volts is just one of the possible implementations. All input and output voltages may be set to various values as necessitated by the intended application. A system status display 214 provides a window for displaying various types of system status information such as whether the battery pack is turned on and providing power and what type of power output or outputs are being provided from the battery pack 102. The main power switch 216 provides the manner for turning on and off the smart battery pack 102. The main power switch 216 enables the user to selectively provide power from the battery pack 102 as desired.
Referring now to
Referring now to
When the battery pack 102 is inserted into a rack 502 for charging through the power control termination point 404, the 15-volt DC input socket 212 is disabled by the charging control and detection circuitry 406 responsive to commands from the microcontroller unit 408. In this situation, the charging control and detection circuitry 406 would receive an indication from the power and control connector 302 that the power control termination point 404 had been connected therewith. These indications would be forwarded to the microcontroller unit 408. The microcontroller unit 408 would instruct the control and connection circuitry 406 to disable the 15-volt DC input socket 212 while receiving the charging voltage from the power and control connector 302. The power and control connector 302, in addition to providing for the charging of the internal battery 410 of the battery pack 102, provides access to control and monitor the operation of the battery pack 102 from external control circuitries.
The battery pack 102 includes a microcontroller unit 408 which is responsible for controlling all monitoring and control operations within the smart battery pack 102. The microcontroller unit 408 provides a display signal to the LCD display 214 that provides status information with respect to the operation of the smart battery pack 102 in a visual manner through the front display 214. As discussed previously, the microcontroller unit 408 additionally communicates with the charging control and detection circuitry 406. The charging control and detection circuitry 406 detects a connection of either the 15-volt charging source 402 or power control termination point 404 at the associated 15-volt DC input socket connectors 212 and power and control connector 302. As discussed previously, when a power control termination point 404 is interconnected with the power and control connector 302, the 15-volt DC input socket 212 is disabled. Similarly, when the power and control connector 302 of the battery pack 102 is not connected to the power control termination point 404 and a charger is interconnected with the 15-volt DC input socket 212, the power and control connector 302 is disabled such that charging voltage comes solely through the 15-volt DC input socket 212.
The charging control and detection circuitry 406 is also interconnected with the power management and monitoring circuit 412 that provides connection of the charging voltages to the battery 410. In the charging mode, the power management and monitoring circuit 412 monitors the charge level of the battery 410 and continues providing a charging voltage from either the 15-volt DC input socket 212 or the power and control connector 302 until the power management and monitoring circuit 412 determines that the battery 410 is fully charged. Once the battery 410 is fully charged, the charging voltage would be disconnected from the battery 410 in order to prevent overcharging issues within the battery 410. The power management and monitoring circuits 412 additionally monitor for connections to each of the AC output 202, USB outputs 210 and 12-volt DC output 208 to determine if connections are provided to any of these outputs requiring the provision of output voltage thereto from the battery 410.
The power management and monitoring circuits 412 would include one or more DC to DC convertors for providing a DC voltage to the USB outputs 210 and to the 12-volt DC output 208 from the battery 410 when a DC power requiring load was connected. Additionally, the power management and monitoring circuit 412 would include one or more DC to AC invertors for providing an output AC voltage to the AC output 202 for AC connected loads. The battery 410 in one embodiment would comprise a lithium iron phosphate (also known as LFP) battery. It will be understood, of course, that other types of rechargeable batteries or other appropriate energy storage device would also be applicable. The battery 410 would include a built in battery management system 414 for managing charging and output of the battery 410.
An alternative implementation of the smart battery pack 102 separates the front user interface that is shown in
Referring to
Referring now to
The rack 502 may have considerable weight associated therewith. Thus, in order to facilitate movement of the rack 502, a number of wheels or tracks 608 could be placed under the rack 502 to enable ease of movement. Additionally, a trolley power mechanism may also be utilized as more particularly illustrated in
Referring now to
A user device interface 604 enables pooled control of each of the battery packs 102 through the associated smart battery pack control circuits 602. User control inputs 802 are provided to the user device interface 604 to enable the power associated with each of the battery packs 102 within an associated rack 502 to be controlled in a desired manner. Implementation of the user control input 802 may be configured such that the user control input 802 can be effected remotely by means of communication medium (such as Wi-Fi or Internet), thus, allowing remote control and monitoring by user. The user device interface 604 may provide one or more outputs 804. The user device interface 604 may be configured by the user control inputs 802 such that each output 804 of the user device interface 604 goes to a separate connected electrical load. Alternatively, the user device interface 604 may pool together all or a portion of the power provided from individual battery packs 102 to provide power to higher power requiring loads. By pooling the power outputs from individual battery packs 102, the rack may obtain higher power capacity for various high power devices such as a microwave oven, refrigerator, dryer, washer, etc.
The user control inputs 802 enable the user to define the number of battery packs 102 that support the power needs of a specific circuit via the user device interface 604 which controls the smart battery pack control circuits 602 of battery pack 102. Thus, a varying number of battery packs 102 may be used to match the power needs of different premises circuit loads such as that for a washer/dryer, a refrigerator, etc. Additionally, one or more battery packs 102 may be taken out of service as a power backup element and removed to perform duties as a portable power source with various power outlets presented as a user interface without affecting the utility of the rack other than the reduction of power associated with the removal of the battery pack or packs. Thus, the battery packs 102 may be deployed as an off-grid automatic or manual power backup for the customer premises.
In addition to pooling power sources from multiple battery packs 102 within a single rack 502, the power providing services of multiple racks 502 may be pooled together to provide even greater power backup resources to a customer as more particularly illustrated in
The group rack control 902 is a smart programmable controller that can automatically detect when a rack 502 is actively available to provide power. The group rack control 902 may also detect the number of battery packs 102 that are provisioned within a particular rack 502. As battery packs 102 are removed and used in other portable situations, some battery packs may require recharging time before they can be placed into service to provide power to the group rack control 902. Additionally, the group rack control 902 may generate control signals to activate or deactivate any battery pack 102 within a rack 502 so as to isolate the specific battery pack from active pooling duty. The group rack control 902 may also be programmed to selectively pool specific battery packs 102 and/or racks 502 for duty and to connect specific load circuits to specific battery packs and/or racks to prioritize the availability of power service to specific load circuits. Thus, various different loads such as a freezer, which requires uninterrupted power, may be accorded priority of service before a washer/dryer on a separate load circuit. The functionality of the group rack control 902 and other elements depicted in
Referring now to
A charging disconnect control circuit 1012 provides either the charging power provided from the photovoltaic panels 1002 or the AC input 1008 depending on which of these is currently available. The provided charging power from the charging disconnect control circuitry 1012 goes to charging and control circuitry 1014 within the rack 502 to provide the charging power to the various battery packs 102 placed within the rack 502. Each of the charged battery packs 102 provides power from its batteries to the associated battery pack control circuits 602. Battery pack control circuits 602 which then forward this power onto the user device interface 604 as described previously. The pooled output from the each individual racks 502 is provided to the group rack control 902 via connections to rack pooling interfaces 1016 within the group rack control 902. A connection may be established between the group rack control 902 and the customer utility interface 904 to provide power to the customer premises as necessary.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that using the above described modular power backup system, various levels of battery backup may be provided at a customer's premises. The customer may select and provide the amount of battery backup as desired depending upon a number of utilized battery packs and/or battery racks in order to configure their backup needs in a desired manner. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner, and are not intended to be limiting to the particular forms and examples disclosed. On the contrary, included are any further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, as defined by the following claims. Thus, it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/856,698, filed Jul. 20, 2013, entitled MODULAR CUSTOMER PREMISES GRID POWER BACKUP SYSTEM (Atty. Dkt. No. ASPS-31818), the specification of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61856698 | Jul 2013 | US |