BACKGROUND

Electric vehicles, such as battery powered electric cars, have become exceedingly popular in recent years due to their green technology and reliability. Many industries have begun shifting to the use of battery powered electric vehicles for material handling and fulfillment, ground support equipment, forklifts, etc.

While batteries offer many advantages in terms of reliability, safety and cost, the main disadvantage is the long battery charging time and the downtime this can cause in industry. The disadvantageous long battery charging time may be addressed by using opportunity charging, which is when the battery is charged several different times during its work cycle to increase its run time and thus, reduce its downtime. However, even with opportunity charging, industries still require bulky heavy-gauge cables and connectors to charge these high-powered batteries. It would thus be desirable to provide an improved DC-DC battery adapter configured for opportunity charging of the battery, while reducing downtime and eliminating the need for bulky cables and connectors during charging.

With a standard size battery design (such as a standard battery voltage 36V, 48V, 96V, etc.), the battery can be charged with only limited power. To charge the battery with a higher power, an improved DC-DC battery adapter may be connected to the battery pack itself to provide fast opportunity charging without the need for bulky heavy-gauge cables and connectors. This improved DC-DC battery adapter can supply high power from the battery charger (high voltage and low current to reduce the bulky cables and connector ratings) to the battery pack (low voltage and high current).

With this improved DC-DC battery adapter, industrial customers can use the low or standard voltage charging input to charge the batteries at low power, or they may use a new fast opportunity charging mode by using the high voltage input to charge the batteries at high power. This improved DC-DC battery adapter provides industry users with more flexibility, by facilitating battery charging activity in different voltage conditions (i.e, in either low or high voltage), while eliminating the need for expensive heavy-gauge cables and connectors. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure includes disclosure of a DC-DC battery adapter for use with a battery pack, comprising: a high voltage connector for coupling with a high voltage battery charger; a low voltage connector for coupling with a low or standard voltage battery charger, or with an electrical load; a high current connection to the battery pack; a communication control unit; and a plurality of DC-DC converters coupled to one another in parallel and configured to adapt voltage of the battery pack for compatibility with a high voltage battery charger using fast opportunity or high voltage charging input, and for compatibility with a low or standard voltage battery charger using low or standard voltage charging input.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein the plurality of DC-DC converters are modular and provide a scalable overall power level so that changing a quantity of the plurality of DC-DC converters also changes the overall power level.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters operate at maximum efficiency, and wherein current and voltage regulation of the battery pack is provided by the high voltage battery charger and not from any of the plurality of DC-DC converters.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is designed to provide at least one of overload, short circuit, overvoltage, and overtemperature protections by limiting current or by disconnecting the battery pack from the high voltage battery charger.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters is configured by the communication control unit to adapt to different battery packs with different voltages to the same high voltage battery charger.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, further comprising a battery management system.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein the communication control unit comprises a battery management system.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters emulates a resistive behavior and a resistance value is used to control the DC- DC converter. The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein each of the plurality of DC-DC converters utilizes a closed loop control as a feedback system, wherein an input voltage and an output voltage are measured and calculated with an input current measurement to find a resistance value and feedback it to the feedback system as a control variable.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, further comprising a proportional- integral-derivative (PID) controller to reduce measurement noise before feeding it back to control the feedback system.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, further comprising a system selected from the group consisting of a computer, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), a GPS, and an artificial intelligence hub operably coupled therewith.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, further comprising an artificial intelligence hub to control the adapter and communicate with other components such as a battery charger and the battery pack.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein the high current connection comprises a busbar.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein the busbar further comprises extra cables to connect to the battery pack.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein the busbar is replaced with thick cables.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, wherein the adapter is configured for use with any one of the group consisting of: electric vehicle battery packs, forklifts, material handling equipment, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), Ground Support Equipment (GSE), and industrial electric vehicles.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of an adapter, further comprising a housing configured for attachment to a battery pack.

The present disclosure includes disclosure of a method for adapting a battery pack’s voltage, comprising: coupling a DC-DC battery adapter to a battery pack, wherein the DC-DC battery adapter comprises: a high voltage connector, a low voltage connector, a high current connection system, a communication control unit; and a plurality of DC-DC converter modules; coupling either the high voltage connector on the DC-DC battery adapter to a high voltage battery charger, or coupling the low voltage connector on the DC-DC battery adapter to a low or standard voltage battery charger; and converting the battery pack’s voltage using the plurality of DC-DC converter modules coupled to one another in parallel and configured to adapt voltage of the battery pack for compatibility with a high voltage battery charger using fast opportunity or high voltage charging input, and for compatibility with a low or standard voltage battery charger using low or standard voltage charging input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed embodiments and other features, advantages, and disclosures contained herein, and the matter of attaining them, will become apparent and the present disclosure will be better understood by reference to the following description of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment battery adapter module connected to a battery pack;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a forklift vehicle having a battery pack and battery adapter coupled to a high voltage charger;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a forklift vehicle having a battery pack and battery adapter coupled to a low voltage charger;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a battery adapter having multiple DC-DC modules for current sharing;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an equivalent circuit for a DC-DC module;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary graph for limiting the max voltage and current in a battery adapter; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a battery adapter having closed loop control for a DC-DC module.

As such, an overview of the features, functions and/or configurations of the components depicted in the various figures will now be presented. It should be appreciated that not all of the features of the components of the figures are necessarily described and some of these non-discussed features (as well as discussed features) are inherent from the figures themselves. Other non- discussed features may be inherent in component geometry and/or configuration. Furthermore, wherever feasible and convenient, like reference numerals are used in the figures and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The figures are in a simplified form and not to precise scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.

As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary DC-DC battery adapter 100 may be configured for attachment to a battery pack 200 to charge the battery pack 200. The DC-DC battery adapter 100 may also be referred to as an “adapter” 100 herein and the battery pack 200 may also referred to as a “battery,” “batteries,” and/or “battery pack(s)” 200 herein. The DC-DC battery adapter 100 itself may generally be a housing, box, frame, or other structure configured for attachment to a battery pack 200.

As shown in FIG. 1, the DC-DC battery adapter 100 may also include one or more DC-DC converters 101 connected in parallel, a high voltage connector 102, a low voltage connector 103, a high current connection system 104 (such as a busbars), and a communication control unit 105. The addition of adapter 100 to a battery pack 200 is very advantageous because then the battery pack 200 can be charged by either: i) a high-powered charger (using the high voltage connector 102) for fast and/or opportunity charging, or ii) by a low or standard voltage battery charger (using the low voltage connector 103). This adapter 100 may also have a modular design as its overall power rating can be scaled by adding more DC-DC converters 101. In this modular design embodiment, the current and/or power may be shared among the DC-DC converters 101.

The adapter 100 may include a high voltage connector 102 to connect to any high voltage battery charger, and may also include a low or standard voltage connector 103 to connect to any low or standard voltage battery charger or to an electrical load (such as a vehicle). The high current connection system 104 may include one or a plurality of busbars coupled to the battery pack 200 and/or to the DC-DC converters 101. The adapter 100 may also include a load power switch, a battery management system (BMS) and/or a communication control unit 105. In some embodiments, the communication control unit 105 may include a BMS. The adapter 100 may include a plurality of DC-DC converters 101 (which are modular) so that its power level can be increased and/or decreased based on the number of DC-DC converters 101 (modular) utilized. The DC-DC converters 101 are configured to share their output current and/or power equally.

Additionally, the function of the DC-DC converters 101 (within the adapter 100) are to adapt the battery pack’s 200 voltage to the high charging voltage, and not to regulate the battery pack’s 200 current and voltage. In one embodiment, the DC-DC converters 101 may also be self- configurable to be able to adapt to different battery voltage levels to the same high voltage charger (i.e. 48V and 96V batteries). A battery pack’s voltage and current are controlled directly by the high voltage battery charger connected to the adapter 100 (a standard EV charger may be used for this function). By removing the need for tight voltage regulation, the DC-DC converters 101 can operate in ideal conditions to minimize costs, increase the conversion efficiency, and minimize power losses, thus facilitating the cooling of the adapter 100 and battery pack 200.

The DC-DC converters 101 may also emulate a resistive behavior with the resistance value used to control the DC-DC converters 101. In this embodiment, there is another value used to control the scaling factor. The DC-DC converters 101 may also use a closed loop control as a feedback system. In this embodiment, the input voltage and output voltage are measured and calculated, along with the input current measurement, to find the resistance value and feedback it to the system as a control variable. Additionally, a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller may also be used to reduce measurement noise before feedbacking it to control the system.

In one exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 2, the adapter 100 may be operably coupled to a forklift’s battery pack 200. When the forklift’s battery pack 200 is depleted, the operator can charge it using a high voltage (HV) battery charger 400 such as a standard electric vehicle (EV) battery charger. In this embodiment, the HV battery charger 400 supplies a high power (i.e., high voltage, low current) to the adapter 100 through a high voltage (HV) cable 401 and via high voltage connector 102, as shown in FIG. 2. However, the HV cable 401 doesn’t need to be a bulky high- gauge cable due to the low current between the HV battery charger 400 and the adapter 100. The adapter 100 may convert the voltage to the standard battery voltage with high current that can boost the battery pack’s state of charge (SOC) to achieve fast and/or opportunity charging. The high current may be supplied directly to the battery pack 200 through the busbars 104. This improved adapter 100 and charging method may increase efficiency, while reducing downtime of the machine. The machine operators can fast and/or opportunity charge the battery pack 200 during the break time (or other short breaks). Additionally, industry customers don’t need a complex and expensive infrastructure of bulky heavy-gauge cables and connectors to fast and/or opportunity charge their battery packs. Industry customers now have the additional flexibility of using either a standard EV charger or a high-powered charger to charge their battery packs 200.

These adapters 100 not only provide a fast or opportunity charging option, but also allow a battery pack 200 to be charged using a standard low voltage battery charger 500, as shown in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, the standard low voltage battery charger 500 may be connected to adapter 100 via the low voltage connector 103 and cable 501. This embodiment using a low voltage standard battery charger 500 may be advantageous when the fast or HV battery charger 400 is occupied. With the additional of the adapter 100, customers then have the flexibility to charge battery packs 200 using either the standard low voltage battery charger 500 (shown in FIG. 3) or the fast HV charger 400 (shown in FIG. 2).

In one embodiment, the DC-DC converters 101 may be configured (via solid-state or electro-mechanical switches) by the communication control unit 105 (or autonomously) to adapt different batteries with different voltages to the same HV battery charger 400. In this embodiment, the plurality of DC-DC converters can be configured by the communication control unit 105 to adapt to different battery packs 200 with different voltages by multiplying the battery voltage by N or by 2*N.

In order to increase the adapter’s 100 efficiency, the battery pack’s 200 voltage and/or current are not regulated by the adapter 100, as that regulation is done by the HV charger 400. In this way, the HV charger 400 may control the current and/or voltage of the battery pack 200, and the adapter’s DC-DC converters 101 can convert the voltage and/or current level to run at the highest efficiency (as the DC-DC converter 101 is not following the resonant point). In addition, the charging voltage, the battery pack’s 200 voltage, and the battery pack’s 200 current are shared among the DC-DC converters 101, as shown in FIG. 4.

Fig. 5 illustrates the DC-DC equivalent circuit 600, as it emulates a resistive behavior which can be controlled by configuring the scaling factor K 605. The input voltage (Vi) 601 is the input voltage to the DC-DC converter 101, and (Vb) 602 is the output voltage from the DC-DC converter 101. By changing the resistance 606 in the circuit, the output voltage value will be changed. Moreover, the current is measured by the adapter 100 so that the adapter 100 may limit the maximum current and/or disconnect the battery to perform current limitation and short circuit protection functions, as shown in FIG. 6. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 7, the adapter 100 may use a closed loop control to feedback and tune the system. The adapter 100 may measure the input voltage (Vim) 607, output voltage (Vbm) 609, and the input current (Iim) 608, to control the system. The difference between the output and input voltage measurement is calculated and divided by the input current to find the resistive value to tune back the system. The resistive value may be subtracted from the reference value (Rref) 610, and this value 606 may go through a PID controller 611 to reduce the measurement noise and be fed back to the DC-DC converters 101 to tune the control variable (F) 606 of the DC-DC converters 101.

Additionally, any of the adapters 100, battery packs 200, battery chargers, and/or communication control unit 105 described herein may also include an artificial intelligence hub. In this embodiment, the artificial intelligence hub may be provided at the point of fulfillment to monitor the performance or efficiency of the adapters 100, battery packs 200, machines, and/or staff. This ability to monitor operations may also establish the foundation for future artificial intelligence software within the workplace. This artificial intelligence hub may also interact with workplace database(s) so the performance of the staff/equipment/machines can be monitored and/or improved.

Additionally, any of the adapters 100, battery packs 200, battery chargers, and/or communication control unit 105 described herein may also include Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and/or GPS, and/or a GPS locator therein (which may generally include other electronic components and/or a computer and/or monitor or other visual display) to monitor data and/or interact with other equipment/machines. The Wi-Fi capability may allow the adapters 100 and/or battery packs 200, to connect to the local network and/or to the battery charging stations. The BLE capability may communicate the adapter’s 100 and/or battery pack’s 200 location within the workplace. The GPS may transmit the adapter’s 100 and/or battery pack’s 200 location and/or act as an anti-theft solution. The Wi-Fi capability may also be important for integrating the adapter’s 100, battery charging stations, and/or battery packs 200, with a customer’s existing technology and software. The Wi-Fi may also help to monitor work progress and be used to communicate with the adapter’s 100 and/or battery pack’s 200 state of charge data and/or the other available adapter’s 100 and/or battery packs 200. The Wi-Fi, BLE, and/or GPS may also help to prevent theft of the adapter 100 and/or battery 200, as its exact position can be monitored/tracked. If lost, the adapter 100 and/or battery pack 200 may also be quickly found using the Wi-Fi, BLE, and/or GPS.

While various embodiments of devices and systems and methods for using the same have been described in considerable detail herein, the embodiments are merely offered as non-limiting examples of the disclosure described herein. It will therefore be understood that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting with respect to the content thereof.

Further, in describing representative embodiments, the present disclosure may have presented a method and/or a process as a particular sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth therein, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described, as other sequences of steps may be possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps disclosed herein should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure. In addition, disclosure directed to a method and/or process should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written. Such sequences may be varied and still remain within the scope of the present disclosure.