Patent Publication Number: US-2023136580-A1

Title: Method for monitoring and controlling a battery pack, system for monitoring and controlling a battery pack, battery management system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a method and a system for monitoring and controlling a battery pack of a vehicle which comprises a plurality of battery cells interconnected in parallel and/or in series, the battery cells each comprising a switching unit which serves to connect and disconnect the respective battery cells separately. 
     The invention further relates to a battery management system and a battery system. 
     The development of electrified vehicles aims to improve the energy efficiency of automotive systems and at the same time to reduce or even eliminate pollutant emissions. Currently, lithium ion batteries are the most frequently used energy storage system in electrified vehicles, because they provide a high energy density with respect to mass and volume, at a smaller size. A plurality of individual lithium ion cells are connected in series and/or in parallel in order to cover the energy and power requirement of the drive. Such a configuration leads to an unavoidable imbalance of the lithium ion cells, which in turn affects the power and service life of the battery pack. In this case, three linked types of imbalances occur within a battery pack. The imbalance of the state of charge (SoC) due to a non-uniform manufacturing process, is also known as a deviation of the remaining amount of energy stored in each lithium ion cell. This imbalance has a direct effect on the cell voltages and thus on the power. The thermal imbalance is caused by the internal resistance of the cells, the temperature gradients in the cooling system, and the position of the cells in the battery pack. The imbalance of the state of health (SoH) indicates the degree of degradation of the individual lithium ion cells within the battery pack. 
     However, lithium ion batteries are complex electrochemical devices having a pronounced nonlinear behavior which depends on various internal and external conditions. Lithium reacts very sensitively to operating conditions and the environmental conditions imposed on it. The temperature is one of the most important factors that causes imbalances in the battery pack. Charging or discharging lithium ion batteries in an electrified vehicle generates strong electrical currents, which in turn leads to significant heating. The increase in temperature can be critical for the operational safety of the battery pack, and in any case leads to a faster aging of the lithium ion cells. Furthermore, the thermal imbalance leads to heterogeneity of the power delivered by each individual lithium ion cell and reduces the overall power of the battery pack. 
     According to the prior art, the imbalance of the state of charge can be treated, for example, by the incorporation of passive or active electrical circuits into the battery configuration. Complex architectures are proposed for heat management, in order to cool the battery pack. These architectures focus primarily on the design of the cooling system, which can be passive or active. The cooling system aims to keep the temperature of the battery pack below a target value and to ensure uniform temperature distribution across all lithium ion cells within the battery pack. In the case of too high a temperature, the proposed solution consists in reducing the electrical power exchanged with the battery pack. With respect to the state of health, constraints are considered in order to reduce the degradation of the battery, such as limiting the charging current in order to avoid the lithium plating process. 
     The document US 2019/0196427 A1 describes a system and a method for controlling a dispatch operation of one or more energy storage units in an energy storage system. 
     The document US 2017/0361832 A1 describes a system and a method for controlling and operating a hybrid vehicle. In this case, a power requirement of the hybrid vehicle is predicted by a power flow control system on the basis of changing conditions during operation of the hybrid vehicle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method for monitoring and controlling a battery pack of a vehicle, in particular an electrically driven vehicle, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, is proposed. In this case, the battery pack has a plurality of battery cells which are interconnected in parallel and/or in series. In this case, the battery cells each comprise a switching unit which serves to connect and disconnect the respective battery cells separately. 
     When the method according to the invention is carried out, pack information of the battery pack is acquired. In this case, the pack information comprises at least cell voltages and cell temperatures of the respective battery cells, and a pack current. In the event that a temperature sensor is not assigned to each of the battery cells, the cell temperature can be estimated by means of temperature measurement at different positions in the battery pack. In this case, the acquisition of the pack current can take place by measuring or calculating. For example, the battery pack comprises a plurality of strings of battery cells connected in parallel, which are interconnected in series in the respective strings. In this case, the currents flowing in the respective strings can be measured, and the pack current can thus be calculated. In contrast, in the event that the battery pack comprises only one string of battery cells, the pack current can be measured directly. The pack information can also comprise further parameters of the battery pack and/or of the respective battery cells, such as pack voltage/temperature of the battery pack and cell current of the respective battery cells. 
     Subsequently, a pack voltage of the battery pack is calculated on the basis of the cell voltages of the respective battery cells and a current activation pattern for actuating the switching units. The activation pattern for actuating the switching units is a binary matrix, which describes the switching states of the switching units of the respective battery cells, i.e. whether the respective battery cells are connected or disconnected. 
     An electrical power requirement of the vehicle is predicted on the basis of information which is acquired by a global positioning system (GPS) module of the vehicle. Modern vehicles have a GPS module that uses the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) network. This allows access to information about speed, location, direction and time of the vehicle. Therefore, the GPS module aids in route planning, by monitoring driving and traffic navigation. This information can also be used to estimate the future dynamic behavior of the vehicle. Thus, a mechanical power requirement of the vehicle within a determined time horizon can be predicted during a journey. Accordingly, an electrical power requirement can be predicted on the basis of the predicted mechanical power requirement and an efficiency of the powertrain of the vehicle. 
     A state of the battery pack is estimated on the basis of the pack information, inter alia the cell voltages and temperatures of the respective battery cells and the pack current, and the current activation pattern. In this case, the state of the battery pack comprises a plurality of state parameters, such as the state of charge (SoC), the state of health (SoH) and the temperature distribution of each individual battery cell and the battery pack. In this case, the state of the battery pack can be estimated by means of models of battery cells or battery packs. The models of battery cells or battery packs are understood to mean, inter alia, models which are formed using empirical modeling technology, such as an electrical equivalent circuit model (ECM), which uses electrical circuits to simulate the behavior of a specific system, thermal network model, and semi-empirical aging model. 
     An optimized activation pattern for actuating the switching units is then calculated on the basis of the predicted electrical power requirement and the estimated state of the battery pack. 
     The switching units of the respective battery cells are actuated according to the optimized activation pattern for actuating the switching units for connecting and disconnecting the respective battery cells. 
     Preferably, the optimized activation pattern is calculated by means of model predictive control (MPC) or receding horizon control (RHC). The model predictive control is preferably carried out based on Pareto optimization, which is also referred to as multi-objective optimization. In this case, consideration weightings are used, which indicate the relative importance of the individual objectives. These consideration weightings are selected such that the desired compromise among all objectives is achieved. 
     Since the activation pattern is a binary matrix, the optimization problem may be formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem. There are several optimization algorithms in the literature for solving this problem, such as Basic Open Source Nonlinear Mixed INteger (BONMIN) solvers. 
     In model predictive control, a simulation model of the battery pack, such as an equivalent circuit model, is used, which aims to estimate the electrical, thermal and aging behavior of the battery pack. The simulation model can be designed, for example, as a Thevenin model. 
     A system for monitoring and controlling a battery pack of a vehicle, in particular an electrically driven vehicle, is also proposed. In this case, the battery pack has a plurality of battery cells which are interconnected in parallel and/or in series. In this case, the battery cells each comprise a switching unit which serves to connect and disconnect the respective battery cells separately. 
     The system is designed to carry out the method proposed according to the invention. In this case, the system comprises: a GPS module of the vehicle; a power prediction module which is designed to predict, on the basis of information acquired by the GPS module, an electrical power requirement of the vehicle; a state estimation module which is designed to estimate the state of the battery pack on the basis of the pack information; and a control device which is designed to calculate an optimized activation pattern for actuating the switching units on the basis of the predicted electrical power requirement and the estimated state of the battery pack, and to actuate the switching units of the respective battery cells according to the optimized activation pattern for actuating the switching units for connecting and disconnecting the respective battery cells. In this case, the power prediction module can be a part of a vehicle control unit (VCU) or a part of a battery management system. However, the power prediction module can also be designed as a separate device. 
     Furthermore, a battery management system for monitoring and controlling a battery system of a vehicle, in particular an electrically driven vehicle, is proposed. In this case, the battery system comprises at least one battery pack having a plurality of battery cells interconnected in parallel and/or in series. In this case, the battery cells each comprise a switching unit which serves to connect and disconnect the respective battery cells separately. 
     The battery management system is designed to carry out the method proposed according to the invention. In this case, the battery management system comprises a state estimation module which is designed to estimate the state of the at least one battery pack on the basis of pack information, and a control device which is designed to calculate an optimized activation pattern for actuating the switching units on the basis of the predicted electrical power requirement and the estimated state of the at least one battery pack, and to actuate the switching units of the respective battery cells according to the optimized activation pattern for actuating the switching units for connecting and disconnecting the respective battery cells. 
     The battery management system preferably comprises a power prediction module which is designed to predict an electrical power requirement of the vehicle on the basis of information acquired by the GPS module. 
     A further aspect of the invention relates to a battery system of a vehicle, in particular an electrically driven vehicle. In this case, the battery system comprises at least one battery pack having a plurality of battery cells interconnected in parallel and/or in series. In this case, the battery cells each comprise a switching unit which serves to connect and disconnect the respective battery cells separately. 
     The battery system is designed to carry out the method proposed according to the invention. Additionally or alternatively, the battery system comprises the battery management system proposed according to the invention. 
     The at least one battery pack preferably comprises one or more strings of battery cells, which are interconnected in series within the respective strands. 
     Preferably, the switching units each comprise a first switching element and a second switching element, the first switching element and the corresponding battery cell forming a series circuit, and the second switching element being connected in parallel with the series circuit. 
     Preferably, the first and second switching elements are each designed as semiconductor switches, for example MOSFET or IGBT. 
     Furthermore, the invention relates to a vehicle, in particular an electrically driven vehicle, which is designed to carry out the method proposed according to the invention, and/or which comprises the system proposed according to the invention, the battery management system proposed according to the invention, and/or the battery system proposed according to the invention. 
     Advantages of the Invention 
     The invention provides a method and a system for optimal power and aging management of a battery pack, which is supplemented by switching units in order to vary the number of connected battery cells. These switching units provide additional degrees of freedom for controlling each cell within the battery pack by activation or deactivation. 
     By way of the solution proposed according to the invention, the power and service life of battery cells or battery packs are optimized. The proposed intelligent monitoring uses the advantages of modern vehicle equipment. It uses the GPS module of the vehicle to predict the future behavior of the vehicle and thus the optimal activation scheme of the battery cells within the battery pack. The monitoring approach is based on model predictive control for optimizing the switching strategy of the battery cells and at the same time maximizing the power and increasing the service life of the battery pack. The thermal, power and aging problems can be overcome by way of the monitoring strategy proposed according to the invention. The solution proposed according to the invention also delays the power reduction phase due to excess temperature. 
     The invention can be used both for completely electrified vehicles and for hybrid vehicles. Under high-voltage network architectures, for example in the case of fully electrified vehicles, the intelligent monitoring would maximize energy recovery during regenerative braking, and at the same time the autonomy, power and service life of the battery cells or battery pack. 
     In addition to the advantages already mentioned, the invention would also bypass the voltage limit for 48 V mild hybrid systems. The latter are limited to 60 V, above which the regulations for high-voltage power supply systems apply. As a result, the number of battery cells that can be connected in series is limited by nature, which in turn restricts the available battery power by limiting the maximum current due to thermal and aging-related limitations. This intelligent monitoring of the battery pack would maximize the battery power in that the switching units are actuated optimally, and thus enable efficient energy management. 
     In addition, it would enable the use of consideration weightings to define the behavior of the battery over time. Thus, for example, the power/service life could be maximized at the expense of the service life/power, or an equilibrium between the two could be maintained. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the invention are explained in greater detail with reference to the drawings and the following description. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic view of a system according to the invention for monitoring and controlling a battery pack, 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic view of a battery pack of a battery system according to the invention according to a first embodiment, 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic view of a battery system according to the invention according to a second embodiment, and 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic view of model predictive control for actuating the switching units. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description of the embodiments of the invention, identical or similar elements are denoted by the same reference signs, a repeated description of these elements in individual cases being dispensed with. The figures show the subject matter of the invention only schematically. 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic view of a system  100  according to the invention for monitoring and controlling a battery pack  24  of a vehicle  10 . 
     It can be seen in  FIG.  1    that the vehicle  10  comprises a GPS module  12  and a battery system  20  which comprises the battery pack  24  (cf.  FIGS.  2  and  3   ). In this case, the battery pack  24  comprises a plurality of battery cells  2  (see  FIGS.  2  and  3   ) interconnected in parallel and/or in series. In this case, the battery cells  2  each comprise a switching unit  40  (cf.  FIGS.  2  and  3   ), which serves to connect and disconnect the respective battery cells  2  separately. 
     In this case, the system  100  according to the invention comprises the GPS module  12  of the vehicle  10 , a power prediction module  14 , a state estimation module  60 , and a control device  70 . 
     When the method according to the invention is carried out, pack information of the battery pack  24  is acquired. In this case, the pack information comprises at least cell voltages V mes , cell temperature T mes  of the respective battery cells  2 , and a pack current I pack,mes . In this case, pack information can also comprise further parameters of the respective battery cells  2  and/or of the battery pack  24 . 
     Subsequently, a pack voltage V pack  of the battery pack  24  is calculated on the basis of the measured cell voltages V mes  of the respective battery cells  2  and a current activation pattern u for actuating the switching units  40 . The activation pattern u for actuating the switching units  40  is a binary matrix which describes the switching states of the switching units  40  of the respective battery cells  2 , i.e. whether the respective battery cells  2  are connected or disconnected. 
     Using information GPS Info  which is acquired by the GPS module  12  of the vehicle  10 , an electrical power requirement P elec  of the vehicle  10  is predicted. Modern vehicles have a GPS module  12  which uses the GNSS network. This allows access to information GPS Info  about speed, location, direction, and time of the vehicle  10 . Therefore, the GPS module  12  aids in route planning by monitoring driving and traffic navigation. This information GPS Info  can also be used to estimate the future dynamic behavior of the vehicle  10 . It is thus possible to predict a mechanical power requirement P mech  of the vehicle  10  within a determined time horizon T during a journey. 
     In this case, the following applies: 
     
       
      
       P 
       mech 
       =F 
       mech 
       ·V 
       veh  
      
     
     In this case, F mech  is the mechanical force acting on the vehicle  10  within the determined time horizon T, and v veh  is the speed of the vehicle  10  during the determined time horizon T. The two variables can be estimated with the aid of the information GPS Info  acquired by the GPS module  12 . 
     During the determined time horizon T, the information GPS Info  is acquired by the GPS module  12  in a plurality of time steps dt. In this case, a prediction horizon H is defined as follows: 
     
       
      
       H=T/dt  
      
     
     After acquisition of the information GPS Info  by the GPS module  12 , the following variables are obtained: 
         v   veh =[ v   veh,1   ,v   veh,2   , . . . ,v   veh,H ] 
       and 
         F   mech =[ F   mech,1   ,F   mech,2   , . . . ,F   mech,H ] 
     The following then applies: 
     
       
         
           
             
               P 
               mech 
             
             = 
             
               
                 [ 
                 
                   
                     P 
                     
                       mech 
                       , 
                       1 
                     
                   
                   , 
                   
                     P 
                     
                       mech 
                       , 
                       2 
                     
                   
                   , 
                   … 
                       
                   , 
                   
                     P 
                     
                       mech 
                       , 
                       H 
                     
                   
                 
                 ] 
               
               = 
                 
               
                 [ 
                 
                   
                     
                       F 
                       
                         mech 
                         , 
                         1 
                       
                     
                     · 
                     
                       v 
                       
                         veh 
                         , 
                         1 
                       
                     
                   
                   , 
                   
                     
                       F 
                       
                         mech 
                         , 
                         2 
                       
                     
                     · 
                     
                       v 
                       
                         veh 
                         , 
                         2 
                       
                     
                   
                   , 
                   … 
                       
                   , 
                   
                     
                       F 
                       
                         mech 
                         , 
                         H 
                       
                     
                     · 
                     
                       v 
                       
                         veh 
                         , 
                         H 
                       
                     
                   
                 
                 ] 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     Accordingly, the electrical power requirement P elec  can be predicted on the basis of the predicted mechanical power requirement P mech  and an efficiency η pwt  of the powertrain of the vehicle  10 . 
     In this case, the following applies: 
         P   elec =η pwt   ·P   mech  
 
     The predicted electrical power requirement P elec  can thus be calculated as follows: 
     
       
         
           
             
               P 
               elec 
             
             = 
             
               
                 [ 
                 
                   
                     
                       η 
                       pwt 
                     
                     · 
                     
                       P 
                       
                         mech 
                         , 
                         1 
                       
                     
                   
                   , 
                   
                     
                       η 
                       pwt 
                     
                     · 
                     
                       P 
                       
                         mech 
                         , 
                         2 
                       
                     
                   
                   , 
                   … 
                       
                   , 
                   
                     
                       η 
                       pwt 
                     
                     · 
                     
                       P 
                       
                         mech 
                         , 
                         H 
                       
                     
                   
                 
                 ] 
               
               = 
               
                 [ 
                 
                   
                     P 
                     
                       elec 
                       , 
                       1 
                     
                   
                   , 
                   
                     P 
                     
                       elec 
                       , 
                       2 
                     
                   
                   , 
                   … 
                       
                   , 
                   
                     P 
                     
                       elec 
                       , 
                       H 
                     
                   
                 
                 ] 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     In order to control the current flowing in the battery pack  24 , a pack current requirement I dem  of the battery pack  24  is calculated on the basis of the actual electrical power requirement P dem  and the calculated pack voltage V pack . In this case, the actual electrical power requirement P dem  represents an instantaneous power requirement, which is time-continuous and can be calculated by means of another control device, such as a vehicle control unit or a control device for controlling an electric motor of the vehicle  10 . 
     In this case, the following applies: 
     
       
         
           
             
               I 
               dem 
             
             = 
             
               
                 P 
                 dem 
               
               
                 V 
                 pack 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     In this case, the calculation of the pack power requirement I dem  is carried out with the aid of a divisor  72  of the control device  70 . By means of a current and temperature monitoring module  74 , this pack current requirement I dem  is limited to a permissible pack current I pack  which flows through the battery pack  24  when the pack current requirement I dem  is too high, for example with regard to a packing temperature Test which is estimated using measured cell temperatures T mes  and is also a state parameter of the battery pack  24 . In this case, the estimated pack temperature Test can be a plurality of temperature values which are estimated from a temperature measurement. By means of the current and temperature monitoring module  74 , the current and the temperature of the battery pack  24  are thus monitored in order to ensure the safety of the battery pack  24  and a rapid degradation. In this case, a current and/or temperature control, for example current/heat derating and/or cooling temperature control, is carried out. 
     In this case, a state x s  of the battery pack  24  is estimated on the basis of the pack information of the battery pack  24 , inter alia the cell voltages V mes  and cell temperatures T mes  of the respective battery cells  2 , the pack current I pack,mes , and the current activation pattern u. In this case, the state x s  of the battery pack  24  comprises, for example, the state of charge, the state of health and the temperature distribution of each individual battery cell  2  and the battery pack  24 . In this case, the state x s  of the battery pack  24  can be estimated by means of models of battery cells  2  or battery packs  24 . 
     The estimation of the state x s  of the battery pack  24  is performed with the aid of the state estimation module  60 . In this case, the state of charge, the state of health and the temperature distribution of the individual battery cells  2  and of the battery pack  24  are estimated on the basis of models of the battery cell  2  and of the battery pack  24 . The pack voltage V pack  is also calculated by means of the state estimation module  60 . 
     An optimized activation pattern u* for actuating the switching units  40  is calculated with the aid of the control device  70  or the model predictive control  76 , on the basis of the predicted electrical power requirement P elec  and the estimated state x s  of the battery pack  24 . In this case, the optimized activation pattern u* over the determined time horizon T or the prediction horizon H is defined as follows: 
         u *=[ u*   1   ,u*   2   , . . . ,u*   H ] 
     The switching units  40  of the respective battery cells  2  are actuated according to the optimized activation pattern u* for actuating the switching units  40  for connecting and disconnecting the respective battery cells  2 . 
     When estimating the state x s  of the battery pack  24 , the following equations apply: 
         x   s   =f   est ( V   mes   ,T   mes   ,I   pack,mes   ,u*   1 ) 
       and 
         V   pack   =g   est ( V   mes   ,u*   1 ) 
     In this case, f est  and g est  are the functions which use the measurements in order to estimate the state x s  of the battery pack  24  or the pack voltage V pack  of the battery pack  24 . In this case, u* 1  is the first optimized activation pattern which is calculated during the model predictive control  76  and applied to the battery pack  24  as a current activation pattern u for further calculation according to the regressive horizon. 
       FIG.  2    shows a schematic view of a battery pack  24  of a battery system  20  according to the invention according to a first embodiment, while  FIG.  3    shows a schematic view of a battery pack  24  of a battery system  20  according to the invention according to a second embodiment. 
       FIG.  2    shows that the battery pack  24  has a positive pole  21 , a negative pole  22 , and a string  26  of a number n of battery cells  2 . In the present case, in order to simplify the illustration, only two battery cells  2 , namely a first battery cell  2 - 1  and an nth battery cell  2 - n , are shown in  FIG.  2   . In this case, the battery cells  2  are connected in series. 
     The battery cells  2  each have a switching unit  40 , which comprises a first switching element  42  and a second switching element  44 , the first switching element  42  and the corresponding battery cell  2  forming a series circuit  30 , and the second switching element  44  being connected in parallel with the series circuit  30 . In this case, the first and second switching elements  42 ,  44  can in each case be designed as semiconductor switches, for example MOSFET or IGBT. In this case, only one of the two switching elements  42 ,  44  within a switching unit  40  may be closed at a certain time during operation of the battery pack  24 , in order to prevent a short circuit of the battery cell  2 . In the present case, an ideal switching behavior, i.e. undelayed and completely synchronous, and a resistance of zero during current conduction, are assumed. 
       FIG.  3    shows that the battery pack  24  has a number m of strings  26  connected in parallel, each comprising a number n of battery cells  2  connected in series. As shown in  FIG.  3   , the battery cells  2  each comprise a switching unit  40 , which has a first switching element  42  and a second switching element  44 . In this case, the acquired pack current I pack,mes  contained in the pack information can be calculated by adding string currents I 1  to I m  which flow in the respective strings  26  and are measured directly. 
     When the method according to the invention is carried out with the aid of the battery pack  24  shown in  FIG.  2    and  FIG.  3   , the pack voltage V pack  of the battery pack  24  is calculated, on the basis of the measured cell voltages V mes  of the respective battery cells  2  contained in the acquired pack information and a current activation pattern u for actuating the switching units  40 , as follows: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 V 
                 ki 
               
               ( 
               t 
               ) 
             
             = 
             
               
                 
                   s 
                   
                     s 
                     , 
                     ki 
                   
                 
                 ( 
                 t 
                 ) 
               
               · 
               
                 
                   V 
                   
                     mes 
                     , 
                     ki 
                   
                 
                 ( 
                 t 
                 ) 
               
             
           
         
       
       
         
           
             
               
                 V 
                 pack 
               
               ( 
               t 
               ) 
             
             = 
             
               
                 ∑ 
                 
                   i 
                   = 
                   1 
                 
                 n 
               
               
                 
                   V 
                   ki 
                 
                 ( 
                 t 
                 ) 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     In this case, V ki  is the usable cell voltage of the individual battery cells  2 , with k∈{1, 2, . . . , m}, m being the number of strings  26  connected in parallel, and i∈{1, 2, . . . , n}, n being the number of battery cells  2 , connected in series, of the respective strings  26 , and s s, ki  the switching state of the first switching element  42  or the battery cell  2 . Since a battery cell  2  only delivers a usable cell voltage V ki  when the first switching element  42  is closed, the switching state of a switching unit  40  can thus be described by the switching state s s,ki  of a first switching member  42 . Since each of the first switching elements  42  can be only closed or opened, the first switching element  42  can be modeled having its switching state s s,ki  as a binary variable, the following applying: 
         s   s,ki ∈{0,1}
 
     In this case, the following also applies: 
         s   p,ki ∈{0,1}
 
     In this case, s p,ki  is the switching state of the second switching element  44 . 
     Since the battery pack  24  shown in  FIG.  2    comprises only one string  26 , the usable cell voltages are denoted V 1  to V n , and the measured cell voltages are denoted V mes,1  to V mes,n . 
     As stated above, the activation pattern u for actuating the switching units  40  is a binary matrix. The activation pattern u can be described using the following formula: 
     
       
         
           
             u 
             = 
             
               [ 
               
                 
                   
                     
                       S 
                       
                         s 
                         , 
                         11 
                       
                     
                   
                   
                     … 
                   
                   
                     
                       S 
                       
                         s 
                         , 
                         
                           1 
                           ⁢ 
                           n 
                         
                       
                     
                   
                 
                 
                   
                     ⋮ 
                   
                   
                     ⋱ 
                   
                   
                     ⋮ 
                   
                 
                 
                   
                     
                       S 
                       
                         s 
                         , 
                         
                           m 
                           ⁢ 
                           1 
                         
                       
                     
                   
                   
                     … 
                   
                   
                     
                       S 
                       
                         s 
                         , 
                         mn 
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
               ] 
             
           
         
       
     
     The optimized activation pattern u* over the determined time horizon T or the prediction horizon H can thus be described as follows: 
     
       
         
           
             
               u 
               * 
             
             = 
             
               [ 
               
                 
                   
                     [ 
                     
                       
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               11 
                             
                           
                         
                         
                           … 
                         
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               
                                 1 
                                 ⁢ 
                                 n 
                               
                             
                           
                         
                       
                       
                         
                           ⋮ 
                         
                         
                           ⋱ 
                         
                         
                           ⋮ 
                         
                       
                       
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               
                                 m 
                                 ⁢ 
                                 1 
                               
                             
                           
                         
                         
                           … 
                         
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               mn 
                             
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     ] 
                   
                   1 
                 
                 , 
                 
                   
                     [ 
                     
                       
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               11 
                             
                           
                         
                         
                           … 
                         
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               
                                 1 
                                 ⁢ 
                                 n 
                               
                             
                           
                         
                       
                       
                         
                           ⋮ 
                         
                         
                           ⋱ 
                         
                         
                           ⋮ 
                         
                       
                       
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               
                                 m 
                                 ⁢ 
                                 1 
                               
                             
                           
                         
                         
                           … 
                         
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               mn 
                             
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     ] 
                   
                   2 
                 
                 , 
                 … 
                     
                 , 
                 
                   
                     [ 
                     
                       
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               11 
                             
                           
                         
                         
                           … 
                         
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               
                                 1 
                                 ⁢ 
                                 n 
                               
                             
                           
                         
                       
                       
                         
                           ⋮ 
                         
                         
                           ⋱ 
                         
                         
                           ⋮ 
                         
                       
                       
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               
                                 m 
                                 ⁢ 
                                 1 
                               
                             
                           
                         
                         
                           … 
                         
                         
                           
                             S 
                             
                               s 
                               , 
                               mn 
                             
                           
                         
                       
                     
                     ] 
                   
                   H 
                 
               
               ] 
             
           
         
       
     
     If the switching state s s,ki  of the first switching element  42  is equal to one during operation of the battery pack  24 , meaning that the first switching element  42  is closed, the switching state s p,ki  of the second switching element  44  is equal to zero, which means that the second switching element  44  is open. 
     The activation pattern u for actuating the switching units  40  is a binary matrix, which describes the switching states of the first switching elements  42  of the respective battery cells  2 , i.e. whether the respective battery cells  2  are connected or disconnected. In this case, the activation pattern u can also comprise the switching states of the second switching elements  44  of the respective battery cells  2 . 
       FIG.  4    shows a schematic view of model predictive control  76  for actuating the switching units  40 .  FIG.  4    shows that the switching units  40  are actuated with the aid of model predictive control  76 , in order to cover the predicted electrical power requirement P elec . In this case, a number of battery cells  2  is selected for discharging, in order to meet the requested power during the journey. During a braking phase, an energy recovery process takes place by selecting battery cells  2  to be activated in order to maximize the charging power. 
     In the present case, model predictive control  76  is used in order to expediently use the predicted electrical power requirement P elec  in  FIG.  4   . The model predictive control  76  optimizes the activation pattern u of the switching unit  40  over the same determined time horizon T provided by the GPS module  12 . The optimized activation pattern u* denotes the optimized states of the individual switching units  40  over the determined time horizon T. In this case, the switching units  40  are actuated by a gate driver module  50  at each time step dt within the determined time horizon T. In this case, the model predictive control  76  uses the predicted electrical power requirement P elec  and the estimated state x s  of the battery pack  24  as input variables. In this case, the model predictive control  76  comprises an objective function and condition module  761 , an optimization module  762  and a simulation model  763 , in order to optimize the activation pattern u. The simulation model  763  of the battery pack  24  aims to estimate the electrical, thermal and aging behavior of the battery pack  24 . 
     In the present case, the model predictive control  76  is performed on the basis of a Pareto optimization, which is formulated as follows: 
     
       
         
           
             u 
             = 
             
               arg 
               
                 min 
                 u 
               
               
                 J 
                 ⁡ 
                 ( 
                 
                   
                     
                       x 
                       s 
                     
                     ( 
                     t 
                     ) 
                   
                   , 
                   u 
                 
                 ) 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     which is dependent on the following equations: 
         {dot over (x)} ( t )= f   sim ( x ( t ), u ), 
         y ( t )= g   sim ( x ( t ), u ), 
         y   lb   ≤y ( t )≤ y   ub ,
 
       and 
         u∈{ 0,1}. 
     In this case, the optimization problem at the beginning of the method according to the invention is initialized with an initial activation pattern u 0 , which is defined as follows: 
     
       
         
           
             
               u 
               0 
             
             = 
             
               [ 
               
                 
                   
                     0 
                   
                   
                     ⋯ 
                   
                   
                     0 
                   
                 
                 
                   
                     ⋮ 
                   
                   
                     ⋱ 
                   
                   
                     ⋮ 
                   
                 
                 
                   
                     0 
                   
                   
                     … 
                   
                   
                     0 
                   
                 
               
               ] 
             
           
         
       
     
     The initial activation pattern u 0  means that the battery pack  24  is disconnected. 
     In this case, J is the scalar objective function, which is defined as follows: 
     
       
         
           
             J 
             = 
             
               
                 ∑ 
                 
                   k 
                   = 
                   1 
                 
                 H 
               
               
                 ( 
                 
                   
                     ∑ 
                     
                       i 
                       = 
                       1 
                     
                     N 
                   
                   
                     
                       γ 
                       i 
                     
                     · 
                     
                       J 
                       i 
                     
                   
                 
                 ) 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     In this case, k=1, . . . , H and H are the prediction horizon. N is the number of objectives to be met, such as power requirement, temperature and/or state of health. In this case, γ i ≥0 are the consideration weightings indicating the relative importance of the individual objectives. These consideration weightings are selected such that the desired compromise between all objectives is achieved, i.e. Σ i   N γ i =1. 
     In the following, the highlighted conflicting objectives can be:
         J pw , in order to cover the predicted electrical power requirement P elec ,   J temp , in order to reduce the temperature deviations within the battery cells  2  and the average battery temperature,   J SoC , in order to reduce the SoC imbalance within the cells,   J SoH , in order to ensure uniform aging and minimize degradation, and   J u , in order to minimize the switching rate.       

     The equations of {dot over (x)}(t) and y(t) describe the dynamics of the simulation model  763  of the battery pack  24 . The equations of y lb ≤y(t)≤y ub  and u∈{0,1} specify the boundary conditions for the output of the simulation model  763 , such as voltages, current and temperatures, and the activation pattern u. In this case, y lb  and y ub  are the limitations of the battery pack  24 , such as the voltage and current limits of the battery pack  24 , as well as the voltage and current limits of the respective strings  26 , if the battery pack  24  comprises a plurality of strings  26  connected in parallel, the state of charge and state of health limits, and the temperature limit and deviation, etc. 
     The model predictive control  76  optimizes the activation pattern u in each time step dt. According to the regressive horizon, only the first optimal activation pattern u 1 * is applied to the battery pack  24 . 
     The invention is not limited to the embodiments described here and the aspects emphasized therein. Rather, a large number of modifications are possible within the range indicated by the claims, which are within the scope of the activities of a person skilled in the art.