Patent ID: 8330420

Claim:
A reconfigurable battery system, comprising: a plurality of battery circuits coupled via two connections to a load and arranged adjacent to each other to form a battery-cell array, where a given battery circuit in the plurality of battery circuits includes: a battery cell with an input terminal and an output terminal; a first switch connected between the load and an input terminal of the battery cell; a second switch is connected between an input terminal of the battery cell and an output terminal of a battery cell in an immediately adjacent battery circuit; and a third switch connected between the output terminal of the battery cell and the output terminal of the battery cell in the adjacent battery circuit; and a local controller operably coupled to the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in each of the plurality of battery circuits and selectively controls the first switch, the second switch and the third switch in the plurality of battery circuits; a first array-level switch connected between the load and an input node for the battery-cell array; a second array-level switch connected between the input node of the battery-cell array and an output node of an adjacent battery-cell array; and a third array-level switch connected between the output node of the battery-cell array and the output node of the adjacent battery-cell array.