Flexible battery system for a vehicle
A configuration instruction associated with configuring a plurality of batteries which supply power to a plurality of motors in a vehicle is received. The batteries are configuring as specified by the configuration instruction, where the batteries are able to be configured in a plurality of configurations, including: a first configuration where at least some of the batteries are electrically connected together in parallel and a second configuration where at least some of the batteries are electrically connected together in series.
1 . A system, comprising:
a plurality of batteries which supply power to a plurality of motors in a vehicle, wherein a first subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a first subset of the plurality of motors and a second subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a second subset of the plurality of motors; and
a battery configuration controller that is configured to:
determine a flight plan including a time associated with the vehicle being in a particular flight mode during the flight plan;
predict a load of at least one of the plurality of motors based at least on a comparison of real-time conditions with at least one of: a direction or a velocity of the vehicle;
receive a configuration instruction associated with configuring the plurality of batteries, wherein the configuration instruction is generated in response to the predicted load of at least one of the plurality of motors; and
configure the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction to:
provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above a threshold to have in-series batteries, and
provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above a threshold to have in-parallel batteries, wherein the in-parallel batteries are electrically independent from the in-series batteries.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration instruction is generated when the vehicle is in a pre-flight state.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration is performed prior to takeoff.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration is performed mid-flight.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the in-series batteries provide at least twice the voltage of a single battery to those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above the threshold.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the battery configuration controller is further configured to:
receive a configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries; and
in response to receiving the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries, the battery configuration controller configures the plurality of batteries to be in a configuration where at least some of the plurality of batteries are connected together in series.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries is based at least in part on a flight mode associated with charging.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the battery configuration controller is further configured to:
receive a configuration instruction is generated in anticipation of the vehicle taking off; and
in response to receiving the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of the vehicle taking off, the battery configuration controller configures the plurality of batteries to be in a configuration where at least some of the plurality of batteries are connected together in parallel.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the particular flight mode includes at least one of: a hovering mode and a forward flight mode.
10 . A method, comprising:
determining a flight plan including a time associated with the vehicle being in a particular flight mode during the flight plan;
predicting a load of at least one of a plurality of motors based at least on a comparison of real-time conditions with at least one of: a direction or a velocity of a vehicle;
receiving a configuration instruction associated with configuring a plurality of batteries, wherein the configuration instruction is generated in response to the predicted load of at least one of the plurality of motors, wherein:
the plurality of batteries supply power to the plurality of motors in the vehicle,
a first subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a first subset of the plurality of motors, and
a second subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a second subset of the plurality of motors; and
configuring the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction to:
provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above a threshold to have in-series batteries; and
provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above a threshold to have in-parallel batteries, wherein the in-parallel batteries are electrically independent from the in-series batteries.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the configuration instruction is generated when the vehicle is in a pre-flight state.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the configuration is performed prior to takeoff.
13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the configuration is performed mid-flight.
14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the in-series batteries provide at least twice the voltage of a single battery to those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above the threshold.
15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein configuring the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction includes connecting at least a subset of the plurality of batteries in parallel to power those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above the threshold.
16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
receiving a configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries; and
in response to receiving the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries, configuring the plurality of batteries to be in a configuration where at least some of the plurality of batteries are connected together in series.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the configuration instruction generated in anticipation of charging the plurality of batteries is based at least in part on a flight mode associated with charging.
18 . A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:
determining a flight plan including a time associated with the vehicle being in a particular flight mode during the flight plan;
predicting a load of at least one of a plurality of motors based at least on a comparison of real-time conditions with at least one of: a direction or a velocity of a vehicle;
receiving a configuration instruction associated with configuring a plurality of batteries, wherein the configuration instruction is generated in response to the predicted load of at least one of a plurality of motors, wherein:
the plurality of batteries supply power to the plurality of motors in the vehicle,
a first subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a first subset of the plurality of motors, and
a second subset of the plurality of batteries is configured to power at least a second subset of the plurality of motors; and
configuring the plurality of batteries as specified by the configuration instruction to:
provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads above a threshold to have in-series batteries, and
provide those motors of the plurality of motors with predicted loads not above a threshold to have in-parallel batteries, wherein the in-parallel batteries are electrically independent from the in-series batteries.
19 . The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the configuration instruction is generated when the vehicle is in a pre-flight state.
20 . The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the configuration is performed prior to takeoff.