Battery and Motor Systems for Electric-Powered Vehicles

Abstract

A system for maintaining battery cycle life for motorized battery-powered electric vehicles. Current battery-powered electric vehicles such as automobiles and trucks suffer from short cycle life of their batteries, meaning that these vehicles' batteries will become unusable well before reaching the normal useful life of combustion engine powered vehicles. Owners of vehicles using my system will enjoy vehicles with acceptable ranges, acquisition and operating costs, yet will enjoy battery lifetimes as long or as longer than the useful life of combustion engine vehicles.

Claims

1. A battery system for use with a motorized electric vehicle, which comprises: a plurality of swappable battery modules, each battery module having a set of rechargeable batteries in a portable housing configured for battery module swapping; a first battery module of the plurality of swappable battery modules that is electrically connectable to a motor or motors of the electric vehicle; a sensor unit configured to detect discharge of the first battery module when the electric vehicle is in operation, and an operator display that displays the remaining charge in the first battery module and a discharge limit during operation of the vehicle; a control system that defines the discharge limit and triggers disconnection of the first battery module if the discharge limit is reached, wherein the control system includes a user over-ride control that disables disconnection of the first battery module; and, an external charger configured to receive one or more partially discharged battery modules, and to perform a recharge cycle under mild conditions that minimize degradation of battery cycle lifetime.

2. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the user over-ride control is a manual switch.

3. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the first battery module is manually exchangeable with a second battery module when the first battery module has reached the defined discharge limit.

4. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the electric vehicle is configured to receive two or more swappable battery modules and the control system is configured to discharge the first battery module to the discharge limit before causing power to be drawn from a second battery module.

5. The battery system of claim 1, wherein each swappable battery module includes a portable casing, a set of rechargeable battery cells, an electrical coupling for connecting the battery module to the motor or motors of the electric vehicle and for discharging and recharging the battery cells, and a handle for portably swapping the battery modules.

6. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the sensor unit comprises a battery voltage sensor and a battery discharge monitor.

7. The battery system of claim 6, wherein the sensor unit is coupled during use with a processor having instructions to calculate and display to an operator the remaining charge in a battery module electrically connected to a motor or motors of the electric vehicle.

8. An electric vehicle, which comprises: a plurality of swappable battery modules, each battery module having a set of rechargeable batteries in a portable housing configured for battery module swapping; a first battery module of the plurality of swappable battery modules that is electrically connectable to a motor or motors of the electric vehicle; a sensor unit configured to detect discharge of the first battery module when the electric vehicle is in operation, and an operator display that displays the remaining charge in the first battery module and a discharge limit during operation of the vehicle; and, a control system that defines the discharge limit and triggers disconnection of the first battery module if the discharge limit is reached, wherein the control system includes a user over-ride control that disables disconnection of the first battery module.

9. The electric vehicle of claim 8, which comprises a plurality of direct current motors that supply torque to propel the vehicle, wherein the motors are powered by the first battery modules.

10. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein the control system operates to disconnect the first battery module when its discharge limit is exceeded and to connect a second battery module while the vehicle is in operation.

11. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein the battery modules that have reached their discharge limit are configured to be manually removed from the vehicle for external recharging and manually replaced by fully charged battery modules.

12. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein each swappable battery module includes a portable casing, a set of rechargeable battery cells, an electrical coupling for connecting the battery module to the motor or motors of the electric vehicle and for discharging and recharging the battery cells, and a handle for portably swapping the battery modules.

13. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein the sensor unit comprises a battery voltage sensor and a battery discharge monitor.

14. The electric vehicle of claim 13, wherein the sensor unit is coupled during use with a processor having instructions to calculate and display the remaining charge in the first battery module.

15. The electric vehicle of claim 9, wherein a first direct current motor is powered by the first battery module, and the control system is powered by a second battery module.

16. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein the user over-ride control is a manual control switch.

17. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein the operator display includes a needle dial that has at least: a dial face with markings indicating remaining charge; a first needle acting as the indicator, which when pointing to a first marking indicates measured charge remaining in the battery module or modules that power the vehicle; a second needle acting as a manual adjustment, which is moved manually to adjust the discharge limit, the discharge limit being set by a second marking the second needle points to, wherein the control system disconnects the battery module or modules from the motor or motors when the first marking is lower than the second marking.

18. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein the operator display is a digital display.

19. The electric vehicle of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of battery modules further including a plurality of battery cells placed in a frame, the plurality of battery cells being connected as a voltaic pile, and each of the plurality of battery cells is independently removable from the frame.

20. The electric vehicle of claim 8, the battery modules comprising lightweight exchangeably replaceable battery trays disposed under a hood or trunk of the vehicle.

21. The electric vehicle of claim 9, wherein the motors are electrically connectable to one or more of the swappable battery modules under control of an operator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] One or more embodiments are taught and are more readily understood by considering the drawings in association with the specification, in which:

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a vehicle containing battery module housings containing battery modules enclosed within them.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows battery modules with handles enclosed within housings from which electric cables run to power the vehicle.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows the interior of the battery module housing with its coupling and cable.

[0025] FIG. 4 shows a battery module housing in exploded view and illustrates three battery modules and their structure.

[0026] FIG. 5 shows the bottom of the battery module showing the placement of the coupling which connects the battery module and its cells to the circuit powering the vehicle.

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a discharge limit indicator as a needle dial in which one needle is movable by the owner as an adjustment to set the discharge limit while another needle reads the actual charge left on the aggregate of the battery modules in the vehicle at that time, and the over-ride switch permitting the operator to over-ride the discharge limiter and continue using the batteries under non-ideal or emergency conditions.

[0028] FIG. 7 shows the external battery charger with the placement of an individual battery module within it and the battery charger's cable extending out from it and the battery charger's cable extending out from it to an external power source.

[0029] The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features or components herein may be shown in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity, explanation, and conciseness. The drawing figures are part of the specification, written description and teachings disclosed here.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] The present invention now will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some examples of embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be constructed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements.

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle loaded with battery modules as seen from the side, with 101 being the vehicle body and 102 being battery module housings into which sets of individual battery modules are placed.

[0032] This invention contains removable battery modules which contain the individual batteries which are the power source for the motors of the vehicles. Each vehicle is equipped with multiple sets of inexpensive battery modules so that when the vehicle has been operated to the desired discharge limit that the battery modules can be removed and the alternate set installed. While a first set is in the vehicle, a second battery set is in an external battery charger where the battery cells can be recharged slowly so as to not damage them. Alternatively, the power supply may be configured to receive two or more swappable battery modules and the control system may be configured to discharge a first battery module to the discharge limit before causing power to be drawn from a second battery module, for example. In another embodiment, the control system may be powered by a swappable battery module that is independent from the swappable battery module powering the motor or motors.

[0033] Currently-available electric battery-powered vehicles are designed such that the operator is encouraged to use all or more than 50% of the vehicles' batteries' charge. However, doing so damages the batteries such that they will only recharge again for a few hundred recharges, particularly if fast recharging is used. Any electric vehicle with batteries which only last for a few hundred days of operation will be of a useful life shorter in duration than that of combustion engine powered vehicles.

[0034] In order for electric battery powered vehicles to enjoy useful lifetimes comparable to, or in excess of, combustion engine vehicles, their batteries must be discharged by only a fraction of their total capacity. By discharging the batteries by only a fraction of their capacity each time the vehicle is used, and by using mild recharging conditions, the batteries will enjoy a cycle life of thousands rather than hundreds of days of use.

[0035] The invention permits the batteries of all-electric vehicles to last for thousands of days of daily use by limiting the amount they are discharged in normal, non-reserve operation. This invention permits the owners of all-electric vehicles to select the amount of discharge of their batteries in normal, non-reserve use, and therefore to choose between longer life of their batteries and normal, non-reserve range of their vehicles. A variety of rechargeable batteries known in the art may be used. Swapping of batteries permits trickle charging, which reduces the formation of dendrites that have been associated with battery fires caused by fast charging and extended discharge below about 45-50% of capacity. Swappable battery modules are recharged under mild conditions that favor extended battery life, typically in an external recharger as described below (FIG. 7).

[0036] These battery systems may be coupled to one or more motors distributed in the vehicle chassis as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/686,195, which is incorporated here in full by reference for all that it teaches. Battery sets may be coupled to a plurality of motors such that multiple motors are engaged when higher torque is desired, and fewer motors are engaged when performance can be reduced in favor of extended range and improved battery life, for example. The motors may be direct current motors that operate with greater efficiency than obtainable with an AC motor coupled to an expensive inverter package, for example. Electric vehicles having a combination of sets of inexpensive rechargeable batteries and multiple direct current motors both reduces the initial costs of the electric vehicle, and, by establishing a system for limiting battery discharge (with swappable battery sets), also achieves significant improvements in reducing operating costs over the life of the vehicle. The motors may be electrically connected to the battery modules under control of an operator.

[0037] FIG. 2 is a perspective drawing of a set of three battery modules fitted into a housing residing inside a vehicle, with 201 being the housing body, 202 being the individual battery modules, 203 being the handles by which the battery modules are moved from place to place such as fitted into the housing, and 204 being a connecting electric cable which conveys current from the battery through the housing and outward from the housing to the power requirements of the vehicles, principally the drivetrain.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a cutaway perspective drawing of the interior of the battery module housing in which 301 is a coupling which connects a battery module to the housing from which current is conveyed outside the housing to a motor or motors via cable 302, in which a housing body represented by 303.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a perspective drawing showing an exploded view (dashed lines) of the battery module housing and battery modules in the housing. Battery module housing 401 is the housing body, 402 being the individual battery modules fitted into the body, and 403 being the handles by which the battery modules are moved.

[0040] The center panel of FIG. 4 shows the interior structure of the battery module which is found inside of a battery module, in which 404 is the structural framework which holds individual battery cells 405 and conveys their currents through the battery module via an electrical coupling in framework 404.

[0041] The leftmost panel of FIG. 4 shows housing 401 for three battery modules in which one battery module 403 is removed (dashed line). The right panel shows battery module 403 in which the internal structure is fully assembled and as is fitted into the battery module housing when the battery module powers the vehicle.

[0042] FIG. 5 is a perspective drawing of the bottom of a battery module 501 and showing the placement of a coupling 502 which conveys current to the framework inside in which resides individual cells.

[0043] FIG. 6 illustrates a discharge limit indicator in the form of a needle dial with a measured dial face 601 so that the vehicle operator can see the amount of charge remaining on the aggregate of the battery module set or sets installed within the vehicle as a percentage of the total charge capacity of the battery module set or sets in aggregate. 602 represents a movable needle which is the control setting for the discharge limit indicator in which the setting has been set by the vehicle's owner at the mid-point of the aggregate charge of an installed battery module set, or 50% of charging capacity. 603 represents a gauge needle which reads the actual remaining charge left on the aggregate of the battery modules installed in the vehicle and coupled to the power train, and is reading that the remaining charge is at 75% of total charge capacity as shown here. The gauge dial reads left to right with a minus sign on the left of the dial and a positive sign on the right of the dial. 604 represents an over-ride switch or control which may be used by the vehicle operator so that the battery modules do not automatically disconnect from the drivetrain of the vehicle once their aggregate charge has reached 50% of full charge capacity as indicated by the setting of the movable needle. In this way everything below 50% of full charge is considered a capacity reserve (i.e., only to be used in non-ideal conditions) so that the useful life of the batteries will be maintained through thousands of recharging cycles under mild conditions.

[0044] The display may include a control interface for setting the discharge limit and for over-riding the limit if necessary. For example, switch 604 may be a manual over-ride switch and is representative of a control interface as would be used when circumstances dictate the need to over-ride the preferred or optimal discharge limit.

[0045] The system will include a sensor for measuring battery voltage and a battery discharge monitoring apparatus that measures current draw. The sensor and battery discharge monitor are coupled during use with a processor having instructions for calculating and displaying the remaining charge in a battery module during operation of the vehicle.

[0046] FIG. 7 illustrates an external battery charger into which a set of battery modules not presently in the vehicle is placed so that the batteries can be recharged under mild conditions, such as slowly recharged over perhaps seven or eight hours of low current, to preserve the cycle life of the batteries. The external battery charger outside is 701, while 702 (dashed line) is an interior depiction of the placement of an individual battery module with its handle 705 so it may be placed within the charger and removed from it. 703 is a coupling inside the charger which connects to the coupling inside the battery module so current from the outside charger may be conveyed to the battery module and distributed to the individual cells within it. 704 is an electric cable connecting the external battery charger to an outside power source.

[0047] Many modifications and other embodiments of the innovation set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not limited to the specific examples of the embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation.