Method for Determining the Actual Amount of Energy Available in an Energy Storage Module

• Main Authors: HANDSCHUH TOBIAS, FROESCHL JOACHIM, REISCHL SEBASTIAN, MAI ALEXANDER
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 13.05.2010
• Subjects: CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTINGELECTRIC POWER; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TOTRANSPORTATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT OR PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLEDVEHICLES; ELECTRICITY; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES, IN GENERAL; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERATION; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MEASURING; MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TESTING; TRANSPORTING; VEHICLES IN GENERAL

The amount of energy actually available in an energy storage module having a plurality of individual storage elements connected in series is determined. An upper and/or a lower limit voltage for the energy storage module is determined dynamically. During a charging operation of the energy storage module, in the event that a maximally permissible upper cell voltage is reached on at least one storage cell, the upper limit voltage of the energy storage module is determined by summing all cell voltages of all storage elements existing at that point-in-time. During a discharging operation, if a minimally permissible lower cell voltage is reached on at least one storage element, the lower limit voltage is determined by summing all cell voltages existing at that point-in-time. The actually available amount of energy is computed as a function of the determined limit voltage or voltages and of the determined actual storage capacity.