Patent ID: 7683575

Claim:
A method of identifying and selectively disconnecting a faulty battery cell within a battery pack comprised of a plurality of cells, said method comprising the steps of: monitoring at least one performance parameter of a group of cells within said plurality of cells; comparing said at least one performance parameter to a range of acceptable values for said at least one performance parameter, wherein operation of said group of cells outside of said range of acceptable values indicates a short circuit within said group of cells; and determining if said group of cells is operating within said range of acceptable values and if said group of cells is operating outside of said range of acceptable values, performing the steps of: temporarily disconnecting each cell, one by one, of said group of cells while monitoring said at least one performance parameter of said group of cells and comparing said at least one performance parameter to said range of acceptable values, wherein said step of temporarily disconnecting each cell is performed by operating a switch of a plurality of switches corresponding to the cell being temporarily disconnected, wherein each switch of said plurality of switches corresponds to each cell of said group of cells, and wherein each switch is interposed between said corresponding cell of said group of cells and a common collector element; and permanently disconnecting said faulty battery cell from the group of cells when said group of cells operates outside of said range of acceptable values during said temporary disconnecting step, wherein said permanent disconnecting step is performed by permanently operating said corresponding switch.