Patent ID: 8330419

Claim:
A reconfigurable battery system comprising: a plurality of battery circuits interconnected to each other, each circuit having: an input terminal; an output terminal; a battery cell with a positive terminal and a negative terminal interposed between the input terminal and the output terminal; an input switch connected between the input terminal and the negative terminal of the battery cell; a parallel switch connected between the output terminal and the positive terminal of the battery cell; a bypass switch connected between the negative terminal of the battery cell and a negative terminal of an adjacent battery circuit; and a series switch connected between the positive terminal of the battery cell and the negative terminal of the adjacent battery circuit; and a control unit that monitors an operational state of the battery cells in the plurality of battery circuits and controls the input switch, the parallel switch, the bypass switch and the series switch in the plurality of battery circuits in accordance with the operational state, wherein the control unit determines a number of battery cells available for use from the battery cells in the plurality of the battery circuits.