Granted Patent B2

US 10,699,278 · App. 15/389,188 · Granted Jun 30, 2020

Inventors: Virgil Lee Beaston (Tualatin, OR); Daniel Dee Williams (Ridgefield, WA)

Assignee: Powin Energy Corporation

G06Q30/012G06Q10/06313G01R31/382

Abstract

Claims (86)

1. A system, comprising:

a battery energy storage system comprising:

a plurality of battery packs, each battery pack including:

a battery voltage measurement circuit configured to measure a voltage of the battery pack; and

a battery temperature measurement circuit configured to measure a temperature of the battery pack;

a string controller coupled to the plurality of battery packs and configured to:

measure an electric current associated with each battery pack of the plurality of battery packs; and

control charging and discharging of the plurality of battery packs; and

an array controller coupled to the string controller and configured to instruct the string controller to charge and discharge the plurality of battery packs based on a plurality of battery sensor measurements over a period of time for each of the plurality of battery packs, wherein the plurality of battery sensor measurements are measured by at least one of the battery voltage measurement circuit, the battery temperature measurement circuit, and the string controller;

a warranty database, implemented on one or more computing devices, configured to store battery usage data for the plurality of battery packs, wherein each battery pack is part of a project, and wherein the warranty database is partitioned by project; and

a data controller, implemented on the one or more computing devices, configured to, for each of the plurality of battery packs:

receive battery usage data from the battery energy storage system comprising the plurality of battery packs, the battery usage data including battery identification information, the plurality of battery sensor measurements for the battery pack, and a cumulative warranty value for the battery pack;

determine a project to which the battery pack belongs based on the received battery identification information; and

store the battery usage data in the warranty database in a partition of the warranty database for the determined project.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data controller is further configured to:

compare the received warranty value to a warranty threshold;

determine that a warranty exception has occurred when the received warranty value exceeds the warranty threshold; and

store the exception in the warranty database.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data controller is further configured to:

compare the plurality of battery sensor measurements for the battery pack to a maximum and a minimum sensor threshold;

determine that a warranty exception has occurred when one of the battery sensor measurements is above the maximum sensor threshold or below the minimum sensor threshold; and

store the exception in the warranty database.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a web server configured to:

receive a request from a user for battery usage data stored in the warranty database;

verify that the requested battery usage data is authorized to be accessed by the user; and

provide the stored battery usage data to a graphical user interface upon verifying that the requested battery usage data is authorized to be accessed.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of battery sensor measurements include one or more electric current measurements, one or more temperature measurements and one or more voltage measurements.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the array controller is further configured to transmit the battery usage data to the data controller.

7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a battery usage collection device comprising:

a memory configured to store battery usage data for the plurality of battery packs; and

a warranty daemon configured to, for each battery pack:

receive battery usage data for the battery pack, wherein the battery usage collection device is connected to the battery energy storage system, and wherein the battery usage data includes battery identification information and the plurality of battery sensor measurements for the battery pack;

compute the warranty value for the battery pack based on the received battery sensor measurements;

store the battery usage data and the computed warranty value in the memory; and

transmit the stored battery usage data and the computed warranty value to the data controller via a data network.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data controller is further configured to, for each of the plurality of battery packs:

periodically generate a report including battery usage data stored in the warranty database for the battery pack and an exception status for the battery pack; and

transmit the report to a party servicing a warranty for the battery pack.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving a plurality of battery sensor measurements over a period of time for each of a plurality of battery packs stored in a battery energy storage system, wherein the plurality of battery sensor measurements are measured by at least one of a battery voltage measurement circuit, a battery temperature measurement circuit, and an electric current measurement circuit;

controlling, by a string controller of the battery energy storage system, charging and discharging of the plurality of battery packs;

instructing, by an array controller of the battery energy storage system, the string controller to charge and discharge the plurality of battery packs based on the plurality of battery sensor measurements;

receiving, for each of the plurality of battery packs, battery usage data from the battery energy storage system, the battery usage data including battery identification information, the plurality of battery sensor measurements for the battery pack, and a cumulative warranty value for the battery pack;

determining, for each of the plurality of battery packs, a project to which the battery pack belongs based on the received battery identification information; and

storing the battery usage data in a warranty database, wherein the warranty database is partitioned by project, and wherein the battery usage data is stored in a partition of the warranty database for the determined project.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

comparing the received warranty value to a warranty threshold;

determining that a warranty exception has occurred when the received warranty value exceeds the warranty threshold; and

storing the exception in the warranty database.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

comparing the plurality of battery sensor measurements for the battery pack to a maximum and a minimum sensor threshold;

determining that a warranty exception has occurred when one of the battery sensor measurements is above the maximum sensor threshold or below the minimum sensor threshold; and

storing the exception in the warranty database.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

receiving a request from a user for battery usage data stored in the warranty database;

verifying that the requested battery usage data is authorized to be accessed by the user; and

providing the stored battery usage data to a graphical user interface upon verifying that the requested battery usage data is authorized to be accessed.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of battery sensor measurements include one or more electric current measurements, one or more temperature measurements and one or more voltage measurements.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, for each of the plurality of battery packs: periodically generating a report including battery usage data stored in the warranty database for the battery pack and an exception status far the battery pack; and transmitting the report to a party servicing a warranty for the battery pack.

15. A system, comprising:

a battery energy storage system comprising:

a plurality of battery packs, each battery pack including:

a battery voltage measurement circuit configured to measure a voltage of the battery pack; and

a battery temperature measurement circuit configured to measure a temperature of the battery pack;

a string controller coupled to the plurality of battery packs and configured to:

measure an electric current associated with each battery pack of the plurality of battery packs; and

control charging and discharging of the plurality of battery packs; and

an array controller coupled to the string controller and configured to instruct the string controller to charge and discharge the plurality of battery packs based on a plurality of battery sensor measurements over a period of time for each of the plurality of battery packs, wherein the plurality of battery sensor measurements are measured by at least one of the battery voltage measurement circuit, the battery temperature measurement circuit, and the string controller;

a battery usage collection device, comprising:

a memory configured to store battery usage data for the plurality of battery packs; and

a warranty daemon configured to, for each of the plurality of battery packs contained within the battery energy storage system:

receive battery usage data for the battery pack, wherein the battery usage collection device is connected to the battery energy storage system, and wherein the battery usage data includes battery identification information and the plurality of battery sensor measurements for the battery pack;

compute a warranty value for the battery pack based on the received plurality of battery sensor measurements for the battery pack;

store the battery usage data and the computed warranty value in the memory; and

transmit the stored battery usage data and the computed warranty value to a data center via a data network for analysis.

16. The battery usage collection device of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of battery sensor measurements include one or more electric current measurements, one or more temperature measurements and one or more voltage measurements.

17. The battery usage collection device of claim 15 , wherein the warranty daemon is further configured to store the battery usage data by:

correlating each of the plurality of battery sensor measurement to a predefined range of measurement values; and

incrementing a fixed-size counter stored in the memory that corresponds to the predefined range of measurement values.

18. The battery usage collection device of claim 15 , wherein the warranty daemon is further configured to normalize the received battery usage data according to a predefined data format.

19. The battery usage collection device of claim 15 , wherein the warranty daemon is further configured to receive the battery usage data by:

opening a data file containing the battery usage data; and

parsing the data file according to predefined rules to extract the plurality of battery sensor measurements.

20. The battery usage collection device of claim 15 , wherein the warranty daemon is further configured to receive the battery usage data via an application programming interface (API) provided by the battery energy storage system.

Assignments (10)

Continuity (1)

Cited By (4)

US 12,327,845 US 12,476,294 US 12,567,614 US 12,712,215