A power management and selection system for a class 8 tractor trailer, directs excess solar and vehicular charge capacity to an auxiliary load by measuring available charge capacity from a reefer power system including a reefer battery, solar panel and charge controller for moderating solar power to the reefer batter, and measuring available charge capacity from a cab vehicle power system including a propulsion system battery and alternator. Charge logic, in a selector configured for switching charge capacity to the auxiliary load, determines which of the reefer power system and cab vehicle power system has the most potential excess charge capacity, and directs the determined excess charge capacity to the auxiliary load, while the measured available charge capacity remains sufficient for powering the respective reefer power system or cab vehicle power system.

A power storage device includes a plurality of series-connected battery cells and a balance circuit board. The balance circuit board includes: a heat-generating element (1121) that is provided for each of the plurality of battery cells, and is connected with the corresponding battery cell; and a first temperature sensor that is arranged within a range sandwiched between heat-generating elements positioned at both ends in an arrangement direction of a plurality of heat-generating elements (1121).

A method of controlling a battery including a first control circuit and a plurality of modules arranged in series between first and second terminals, each module including, between third and fourth terminals, electric cells and switches and a second switch control circuit. The method includes the determination by the first control circuit of a first priority table associated with a battery charge operation and of a second priority table associated with a battery discharge operation, the first priority table including a first classification of the priorities of the electric cells for the charge operation and the second priority table comprising a second classification of the priorities of the electric cells for the discharge operation.

Disclosed are systems and methods for improved cell-balancing circuits, back-up failure detection circuits and alarm extension for cells and modules of an energy storage system. One aspect of the invention comprises an energy storage device cell balancing apparatus. The apparatus comprises a first and a second dissipative component connected in series. The first dissipative component and the second dissipative component are coupled to an energy storage cell. The second dissipative component monitors a voltage of the energy storage cell and, if the voltage is at or above a reference voltage, the second dissipative component conducts a discharging current through the first and second dissipative components. The first dissipative component maintains a voltage drop across the first dissipative component that is proportional to the voltage of the energy storage cell. The second dissipative component maintains a constant voltage drop across the second dissipative component when conducting the discharging current.

Provided is a battery management method and apparatus. The battery management method includes acquiring physical quantity data, for each of a plurality of batteries, of when corresponding physical quantities of the plurality of batteries, making up the physical quantity data, dynamically vary, calculating unbalance data based on physical quantity difference information derived from the physical quantity data, calculating feature data for the physical quantity data by projecting the unbalance data to a feature space, and determining a battery safety for one or more of the plurality of batteries based on determined distribution information of the feature data.

A battery controller includes a first driving pin, a second driving pin and a third driving pin. The first driving pin is coupled to a charge switch and is operable for turning on the charge switch to enable a battery pack to be charged by a power source. The second driving pin is coupled to a first discharge switch and is operable for turning on the first discharge switch to enable the battery pack to power a first load. The third driving pin is coupled to a second discharge switch and is operable for turning on the second discharge switch to enable the battery pack to power a second load.

A portable charger capable of jump starting a 12 V car battery includes a charger battery, a jump start circuit operatively electrically connected with the charger battery and with an ignition power outlet, and a microcontroller for coordinating safety functions to establish or interrupt the operative electrical connection of the jump start circuit with the ignition power outlet. The ignition power outlet comprises a positive power socket, a negative power socket, a positive sensing socket and a negative sensing socket. The sensing sockets are electrically isolated from the power sockets, and the microcontroller senses voltage across the sensing sockets and is configured to interrupt the operative electrical connection of the jump start circuit to the ignition power outlet until proper voltage is sensed across the sensing sockets.

In one aspect, there is disclosed a cell stack which can include cell modules connected in series to generate a stack operating voltage. The cell modules can include a battery cell in series with a series switch and include a shunt switch connected in parallel to the battery cell and the series switch. A stack monitor circuit can have a series control coupled to the series switch, a shunt control coupled to the shunt switch, and a battery cell monitor coupled to the battery cell for measuring a cell parameter from each cell module. Based on the measured cell parameter, the stack monitor circuit can select at least one cell module either to contribute to the stack operating voltage by closing the series switch and opening the shunt switch or to bypass the stack operating voltage by the opening the series switch and closing the shunt switch.

A battery management apparatus includes a processor configured to collect sensing data of a battery using a sensor, and infrared (IR) communicators located to face a neighboring battery management apparatus of the battery management apparatus. The processor is configured to transmit the collected sensing data to the neighboring battery management apparatus using one of the IR communicators.

The invention relates to a system for battery cell balancing comprising a cell monitoring block (16) configured to monitor the voltage or a related quantity across individual cells (C.sub.1, C.sub.2, . . . C.sub.N) in a battery cell module; a microcontroller (18) configured for monitoring the positive terminal voltage (12) and the negative terminal voltage (13) of said battery cell module, and for monitoring (11) the output current I.sub.mod of said module, and monitored cell voltage of said individual cells (C.sub.1, C.sub.2, . . . C.sub.N), where the microcontroller (18) is configured to provide a control signal (20) based at least said positive terminal voltage (12), said negative terminal voltage (13), said output current I.sub.mod of said module, and said monitored cell voltage of said individual cells; and a hybrid module balancing block configured to provide either an active or a passive cell balancing or a combination of active and passive cell balancing of the cells (C.sub.1, C.sub.2, . . . C.sub.N) in the specific module under the control of the control signal provided by the microcontroller. The invention further relates to a method for battery cell balancing in a battery comprising one or more modules each comprising one or more cells.