Patent ID: 9728820
Date: 2017-08-08
CPC Classifications: B60L,H01M,Y02E,Y02T

Claim:
1. A method of operation within a battery system having a plurality of battery blocks coupled in series between terminals of a battery pack, the method comprising: measuring respective charging voltages of the battery blocks while receiving charging current via the battery pack terminals; measuring respective discharging voltages of the battery blocks while sourcing current to a load via the battery pack terminals, wherein the measuring of the charging voltages and the discharging voltages comprises: identifying an anomalous one of the battery blocks as having a higher charging voltage than charging voltages of others of the battery blocks and a lower discharging voltage than discharging voltages of others of the battery blocks, the charging voltage of the anomalous battery block being a first marginal voltage below an upper threshold and the discharging voltage of the anomalous battery block being a second marginal voltage above a lower threshold; and adjusting a state of charge of the anomalous battery block to reduce a difference between the first and second marginal voltages of the anomalous battery block, wherein the adjusting is based on an estimate of the state-of-charge (ESOC) value for the anomalous battery block that is determined as part of a balancing of the plurality of battery blocks, wherein adjusting the state of charge of the anomalous battery block comprises discharging the anomalous one of the battery blocks without discharging one or more others of the battery blocks, or charging the anomalous one of the battery blocks without charging one or more of the battery blocks.