BATTERY WITH BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ENGINE START APPLICATIONS AND HAVING MULTIPLE INPUT PORTS
A battery such as, but not limited to, electric vehicle battery packs and cells, lithium iron phosphate batteries, lead acid batteries, gel batteries, and absorbed gel mat batteries, may include a battery management system for engine start applications. The battery may include a first power port configured to receive power from a first power source and a second power port configured to received power from a second power source, whereby the first and second power sources are different.
1 . A battery, comprising:
at least one battery housing;
at least one battery cell positioned in the at least one battery housing;
at least one battery management system configured to control aspects of use of the battery;
at least one set of external electrical terminals configured to output electrical energy from the at least one battery cell to an external load;
an input interface configured to receive electrical energy from an external energy source; and
a conversion circuit positioned within the at least one battery housing and coupled to the input interface and the at least one battery cell, wherein the conversion circuit is configured to convert electrical energy received from an external power source, via the input interface, into charging energy suitable for the at least one battery cell.
2 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the input interface is configured to receive electrical energy from an external energy source, the external energy source comprising alternating current.
3 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the input interface is configured to receive electrical energy from an external energy source, the external energy source comprising direct current or other form of electrical or electromagnetic energy suitable for conversion.
4 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the conversion circuit comprises at least one energy conversion circuit selected from the group consisting of rectifiers, alternating-current to direct-current converters, direct-current to direct-current converters, direct-current to alternating-current converters, wireless power transfer receivers, inductive coupling circuits and resonant converters for converting electrical energy into charging energy suitable for the at least one battery cell.
5 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the conversion circuit is configured to automatically identify what type of external energy source is coupled to the input interface and adapt its operation to convert the received energy into charging energy suitable for the at least one battery cell.
6 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the conversion circuit is further configured to identify and interoperate with one or more charging protocols associated with the external energy source.
7 . The battery of claim 1 , further comprising an energy source selector configured to detect when an external energy source is coupled to the input interface or to the external electrical terminals to prevent conflicting simultaneous power delivery by selecting at least one of the external energy sources for providing energy to the conversion circuit.
8 . The battery of claim 7 , wherein the energy source selector is configured to automatically determine which external energy source coupled to the input interface or the external electrical terminals to utilize based on at least one factor selected from the group consisting of availability, priority, quality, and operational status of the external energy sources.
9 . The battery of claim 7 , wherein the energy source selector is further configured to electrically isolate or disconnect one or more external energy sources that are not selected, thereby preventing backfeeding, interference, or simultaneous conflicting power delivery to the conversion circuit.
10 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the at least one set of external electrical terminals configured to output electrical energy from the at least one battery cell to an external load and to receive electrical energy from an external energy source.
11 . A battery, comprising:
at least one battery housing;
at least one battery cell positioned in the at least one battery housing;
at least one battery management system configured to control aspects of use of the battery;
at least one set of externally accessible electrical terminals configured as bi-directional terminals configured to be coupled to a nominal 12-volt electrical system for both delivering and receiving electrical energy;
at least one set of output-only terminals configured to deliver power for powering auxiliary loads distinct from the nominal 12-volt electrical system, wherein the power is delivered through the at least one set of output-only terminals at a second voltage that differs from the nominal 12-volt electrical system;
a conversion circuit positioned within the at least one battery housing and coupled to the at least one battery cell;
wherein the conversion circuit is configured to maintain simultaneous availability of nominal 12-volt electrical energy in the at the at least one set of externally accessible electrical terminals of the nominal 12-volt electrical system and availability of the power at the second voltage at the at least one set of output-only terminals; and
wherein the power at the second voltage is electrically isolated from the nominal 12-volt electrical system.
12 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the power at the second voltage at least one set of output-only terminals is at an integer multiple of twelve volts for powering auxiliary loads distinct from the nominal 12-volt electrical system.
13 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the second voltage is produced by a voltage conversion technique selected from the group consisting of direct-current to direct-current conversion, direct connection to at least one cell tap, switched-capacitor conversion, inductive conversion and resonant conversion.
14 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the second voltage is an integer multiple of twelve volts selected from the group consisting of 24 volts, 36 volts, 48 volts and 60 volts.
15 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the second voltage is a non-integer multiple of twelve volts.
16 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein isolation between the nominal 12-volt electrical energy and the second voltage is selected from the group consisting of electrical isolation, physical separation, logical control separation, and control-based regulation that prevents backfeeding or operational interference between electrical systems.
17 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the battery management system is configured to disable delivery of the second voltage at the at least one set of output-only terminals when the cell pack voltage decreases to a predetermined threshold, thereby preserving availability of the nominal 12-volt electrical energy at the at least one set of externally accessible electrical terminals for at least one critical function.
18 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the conversion circuit is configured to disable delivery of the second voltage at the at least one set of output-only terminals when the cell pack voltage decreases to a predetermined threshold, thereby preserving availability of the nominal 12-volt electrical energy at the at least one set of externally accessible electrical terminals for at least one critical function.
19 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the battery management system is configured to prioritize delivery of the nominal 12-volt electrical energy over delivery of the second voltage when the battery management system is operating in a low state-of-charge mode, thereby ensuring continued availability of the nominal 12-volt electrical energy for critical functions.
20 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the conversion circuit is configured to prioritize delivery of the nominal 12-volt electrical energy over delivery of the second voltage when the battery management system is operating in a low state-of-charge mode, thereby ensuring continued availability of the nominal 12-volt electrical energy for critical functions.
21 . A battery, comprising:
at least one battery housing;
at least one battery cell positioned in the at least one battery housing;
at least one battery management system configured to control aspects of use of the battery;
at least one set of electrical terminals configured to output electrical energy from the at least one battery cell to an external load;
a conversion circuit positioned within the at least one battery housing and coupled to at least one battery cell, wherein the conversion circuit is configured to receive electrical energy from an external power source and convert the electrical energy into charging electrical energy suitable to charge the at least one battery cell;
wherein the conversion circuit is configured to receive alternating current electrical energy and convert the alternating current electrical energy to charging electrical energy; and
wherein the at least one battery cell is configured to discharge direct current electrical energy.
22 . The battery of claim 21 , further comprising an input interface configured to receive electrical energy from an external energy source and provide that electrical energy to the conversion circuit, wherein the input interface is configured to releasable receive an electrical connector facilitating provision of electrical energy to the conversion circuit.
23 . The battery of claim 22 , wherein the input interface is configured to receive electrical energy from an external energy source, the external energy source comprising direct current electrical energy suitable for conversion.
24 . The battery of claim 23 , wherein the conversion circuit is configured to automatically identify what type of external energy source is coupled to the input interface and adapt its operation to convert the received energy into charging energy suitable for the at least one battery cell.
25 . The battery of claim 23 , wherein the conversion circuit is further configured to identify and interoperate with one or more charging protocols associated with the external energy source.
26 . The battery of claim 22 , further comprising an energy source selector configured to detect when an external energy source is coupled to the input interface or to the external electrical terminals to prevent conflicting simultaneous power delivery by selecting at least one of the external energy sources for providing energy to the conversion circuit.
27 . The battery of claim 26 , wherein the energy source selector is configured to automatically determine which external energy source coupled to the input interface or the external electrical terminals to utilize based on one or more factors including but not limited to availability, priority, quality, or operational status of the external energy sources.
28 . The battery of claim 26 , wherein the energy source selector is further configured to electrically isolate or disconnect one or more external energy sources that are not selected, thereby preventing backfeeding, interference, or simultaneous conflicting power delivery to the conversion circuit.
29 . The battery of claim 22 , wherein the conversion circuit comprises at least one energy conversion circuit selected from the group consisting of rectifiers, alternating-current to direct-current converters, direct-current to direct-current converters, direct-current to alternating-current converters, wireless power transfer receivers, inductive coupling circuits and resonant converters for converting electrical energy into charging energy suitable for the at least one battery cell.