Claims:1. A cell balancing system (100) for a battery pack (102) in a vehicle, said
system (100) comprises:
a Battery Management System (BMS) (112) comprising a
computing unit (114), said BMS (112) receives 5 power from said
battery pack (102) through a DC-DC convertor (110); and
a switch matrix (106) connects plurality of cells (104) of said battery
pack (102) to said BMS (112), characterized in, said BMS (112)
adapted to
10 monitor at least one parameter related to said plurality of
cells (104),
select at least one target cell (104) based on said at least one
parameter, and
control power supply from said at least one target cell (104)
15 to at least one load to perform cell balancing.
2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said load is selected from
a group comprising but not limited to, an in-vehicle electronics, said BMS
(112) and internal components, an auxiliary Electronic Control Units (ECUs)
20 of a vehicle and electrical loads of said vehicle.
3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said switch matrix (106)
comprises at least one of plurality of relays, plurality of semiconductor
switches and a combination of said plurality of relays and said plurality of
25 semiconductor switches.
4. A method of cell balancing in a battery pack (102), characterized by, said
method comprises the steps of:
monitoring at least one parameter related to said plurality of cells
30 (104);
selecting at least one target cell (104) based on said at least one
parameter,
controlling power supply from said at least one target cell (104) to
at least one load and performing cell balancing.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said load is selected from a
group comprising but not limited to, an in-vehicle electronics, said BMS
(112) and internal components, an auxiliary Electronic Control Units (ECUs)
of a vehicle and electrical loads of said vehicle.
10
6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said step of selecting comprises
operating a switch matrix (106) made up of at least one of plurality of relays,
plurality of semiconductor switches and a combination of said plurality of
relays and said plurality of semiconductor switches.
7. A cell balancing system (100) for a battery pack (102), said system (100)
comprises:
a Battery Management System (BMS) (112) connected to said
battery pack (102) through a DC-DC convertor (110);
20 a switch matrix (106) connected to plurality of cell (104) of said
battery pack (102), characterized in that,
a startup circuit (108) connected across said switch matrix
(106) and said DC-DC convertor (110), said startup circuit (108) is
configured to perform at least two functions, a first function to
25 provide initial power to said DC-DC convertor (110), and a second
function to operate as a default circuit when no cell balancing is
carried out.
8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said startup circuit (108)
30 is also configured to perform a third function which is to act as a fail-safe
circuit when said switch matrix (106) fails.
9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said startup circuit (108)
comprises at least two depletion MOSFETs operated though a gate driver
(202), which in turn is triggered by said BMS (112), and a combination of
a linear voltage regulator and a capacitor (210) 5 to supply power.
10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said switch matrix (106)
comprises at least one of plurality of relays, plurality of semiconductor
switches and a combination thereof. , Description:The cell balancing system 100 comprises a Battery Management System (BMS)
112 comprising a computing unit 114. The BMS 112, in turn the computing unit
114, receives power from the battery pack 102 through a DC-DC convertor 110. A
switch matrix 106 connects the plurality of cells 104 of the battery pack 102 to the
BMS 112, characterized in that, the BMS 112 adapted to monitor at least one
parameter related to plurality of cells 104, select at least one target cell 104 based
on the at least one parameter, and control power supply from the at least one target
cell 104 to at least one load to perform cell balancing. A solution is provided for
cell balancing by selectively choosing cells 104 to power the BMS 112 and other
loads. Further, a multifunctional startup circuit 108 is provided in conjunction with
the switch matrix 106 and the BMS 112.