A battery management system is described that includes a controller configured to control electrical charging and discharging of a plurality of blocks of a battery. The battery management system also includes an inter-block communication network including a master node and a plurality of slave nodes arranged in a ring-type daisy-chain configuration with the master node. The master node is coupled to the controller and configured to initiate all command messages sent through the inter-block communication network and terminate all reply messages sent through the inter-block communication network. The plurality of slave nodes is bounded by an initial node coupled to the master node and a last node coupled to the master node.

A rechargeable battery includes power storage modules, a charging module and a control module. The charging module is electrically connected to the power storage modules. The control module is electrically connected to the power storage modules. The charging module is configured to selectively charge the power storage modules through a plurality of charging paths. Each power storage module corresponds to one of the charging paths. The control module is configured to command the charging module to charge at least one of the power storage modules according to the SoC of each power storage module.

Apparatus for increasing the efficiency of a starter battery for a starter motor of an internal combustion engine in a battery pack arrangement with one or more lithium based cells. The invention includes a jumpbox with solid state switching configuration for high powered battery systems for protecting against over-charging, over-discharging and short circuiting of batteries, especially starter batteries for internal combustion engines, and associated integral control devices within the jumpbox housing.

A battery system for a head-mounted display is provided. A first arm member has one or more interior walls defining a first chamber, wherein one or more first batteries are positioned in the first chamber of the first arm member. A second arm member has one or more interior walls defining a second chamber, wherein one or more second batteries are positioned in the second chamber of the second arm member. A base member is coupled to the first arm member and the second arm member. The base member has a base member power connector positioned along an exterior surface. A first auxiliary battery removably couples to the exterior surface of the base member via a first fastener, the first auxiliary battery having a first side and a second side. A first auxiliary battery power connector is positioned on the first side and aligns with the base member power connector.

The invention provides a method for balancing the electrical voltages of at least two electrical accumulator units that are connected in series. According to the invention, one accumulator unit is connected to the winding of a coil in order to excite the coil, and the other accumulator unit is charged by the excited coil by the subsequent connection of the winding to the other accumulator unit. In addition, the invention provides a corresponding electrical accumulator.

Embodiments are disclosed for a portable battery pack with a secure anchor base. In an embodiment, an apparatus comprises: a housing having a top surface and at least one side surface, the housing having two or more ports, the two or more output ports including at least one charging port configured to charge an accessory device attached to the at least one charging port and a cable input port for receiving a cable pin; one or more batteries; one or more printed circuit boards containing electronic components, wherein the electronic components include charging circuitry coupled to the charging port and the one or more batteries; an anchor base assembly, including: an actuator; mechanical linkage coupled to the actuator; and a lock configured to lock or unlock the actuator.

A system for suppressing inrush currents is described. The system may include a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor and a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor arranged in series between a power source and a battery system to be charged. At a low temperature, while the PTC thermistor provides only minimal resistance to minimize an inrush current, the NTC thermistor provides increased resistance. As the temperature increases, the resistance provided by the PTC thermistor increases as the resistance from the NTC thermistor decreases. The system may be used in conjunction with a battery charging system has at least one current pathway from the power source to the battery system.

The present invention relates to a method for more efficiently performing a balancing operation for a plurality of battery cells of which charges are not equal, in a battery cell balancing circuit using an LC series resonant circuit. The method may include calculating balancing charge for all battery cells of which the charges are not equal, selecting the strongest battery cell storing the highest charge and the weakest battery cell corresponding to the strongest battery cell, among the entire battery cells, and performing a series of balancing operations.

Methods, systems, and devices for power electronics-based (PE-based) battery management. A system may include a set of battery strings, where each battery string may include a set of battery modules, and where each battery module may include a set of battery cells. The system may also include a set of power converters, where each power converter may be coupled with at least one battery string. A power electronics-based (PE-based) BMS may provide one or more battery management functions for at least one corresponding battery string while also monitoring or controlling a corresponding power converter.

A power distribution and control module includes a digital data processor and associated memory module operating an energy management program or schema and a battery charging manager program thereon. The energy management schema is operable to determine an instantaneous configuration of the power and distribution and control module, to determine total instantaneous input power available, total instantaneous power demand by connected power loads and to allocate a portion of the input power to power the loads. Thereafter any unallocated power is allocated to charge rechargeable batteries using allocation criteria that are situationally variable.