Patent ID: 6771045
Filing Date: 2004-08-03
Classification: B60L,H01M,H02J,Y02E,Y02T

Abstract:
In a battery power system comprising a plurality of battery packs, a method for charging and equalizing battery packs by transferring charge between battery packs, the method comprising:a) while the plurality of battery packs are not receiving energy from a power source external to the plurality of battery packs; b) determining if an adjacent neighbor battery pack is a candidate for receiving charge or supplying charge; c) selecting a battery pack to transfer charge from; d) transferring charge from the battery pack selected to transfer charge from to the battery pack selected to transfer charge to and equalizing charge therebetween; e) continuously and simultaneously performing steps b-d to multiple pairs of battery packs in parallel while the plurality of battery packs are not receiving energy from a power source external to the plurality of battery packs.