Community energy storage system with battery bank deactivation

{
  "publication_number": "US2015287971A1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A1",
  "title": "Community energy storage system with battery bank deactivation",
  "abstract": "A community energy storage system comprises a cabinet, at least one battery bank mounted within the cabinet, the at least one battery bank comprising a plurality of battery modules electrically coupled to one another in series; and processing structure for monitoring at least one parameter of each of the battery modules, and in the event that the at least one parameter is outside of a threshold value, deactivating the at least one battery bank.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A community energy storage system comprising: a cabinet; at least one battery bank mounted within the cabinet, the at least one battery bank comprising a plurality of battery modules electrically coupled to one another in series; and processing structure for: monitoring at least one parameter of each of the battery modules; and in the event that the at least one parameter is outside of a threshold value, deactivating the at least one battery bank. 2. The community energy storage system of claim I where the at least one parameter is at least one of temperature, voltage, current, state of charge, cell capacity and efficiency. 3. The community energy storage system of claim 1 wherein the processing structure indicates to a user which one of the battery modules has a parameter value outside of the threshold value. 4. A community energy storage system comprising: a cabinet; at least one terminal rail mounted within the cabinet, the terminal rail comprising a plurality of terminal connectors; at least one battery bank comprising a plurality of battery modules positionable within the cabinet, each of the plurality of battery modules comprising a positive terminal and a negative terminal configured to electrically couple to a respective one of the plurality of terminal connectors; and a plurality of connectors configured to electrically couple the plurality of terminal connectors to one another such that the plurality of battery modules are electrically coupled in series. 5. The community energy storage system of claim 4 wherein the positive and negative terminals are mechanically engaged with a respective terminal connector via friction fit. 6. The community energy storage system of claim 5 wherein each battery module is readily removable by disengaging the positive and negative terminals from the respective terminal connector. 7. The community energy storage system of claim 4 further comprising switching gear configured to selectively activate and deactivate the at least one battery bank. 8. A method of monitoring a community energy storage system having at least one battery bank comprising a plurality of battery modules, the method comprising: receiving a value of at least one parameter of each of the battery modules; comparing the value of the at least one parameter to a threshold value; and in the event that the value of the at least one parameter is outside the threshold value, deactivating the at least one battery bank. 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the at least one parameter is at least one of temperature, voltage, current, state of charge, cell capacity and efficiency. 10. The method of claim 8 wherein the at least one parameter is temperature, the method further comprising: comparing the temperature to a non-critical temperature range; and in the event that the temperature outside the non-critical temperature range, activating one of a heating system and a cooling system. 11. The method of claim 8 wherein in the event that the value of the at least one parameter is outside the threshold value, the method further comprises: indicating to a user which one of the battery modules has a value outside the threshold value. 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of indicating comprises displaying a location of the battery module that has a value outside the threshold value on a display screen. 13. The method of claim 8 wherein the community energy storage system comprises at east two battery banks and in the event that one of the battery banks is deactivated the other one of the battery banks remains activated. 14. The method of claim 13 wherein in the event that the at battery module that has a value outside the threshold value is replaced, the method further comprises: activating the deactivated battery bank when the voltage of the activated battery bank and the voltage of the deactivated battery bank are approximately equal. 15. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program executable by a computer to perform a method of monitoring a community energy storage system having at least one battery bank comprising a plurality of battery modules, the method comprising: receiving a value of at least one parameter of each of the battery modules: comparing the value of the at least one parameter to a threshold value; and in the event that the value of the at least one parameter is outside the threshold value, deactivating the at least one battery bank. 16. A battery module comprising: a housing; a plurality of groups of lithium-ion cells positioned in the housing, each group of lithium-ion cells comprising a plurality of lithium-ion cells electrically coupled to one another in parallel, wherein the plurality of groups of lithium-ion cells are connected in series; and a positive and a negative terminal connector extending from the housing, the positive terminal electrically coupled to a positive series terminal of the plurality of groups of lithium-ion cells and the negative terminal electrically coupled to a negative series terminal of the plurality of groups of lithium-ion cells. 17. The battery module of claim 16 further comprising: a board comprising a plurality of conductive members mounted thereon, the board configured to be positioned within the housing adjacent the plurality of groups of lithium-ion cells, wherein the plurality of groups of lithium-ion cells are electrically coupled to one another via the plurality conductive members. 18. A wedge clamp comprising: a housing having a channel defined therein, the channel comprising a generally flat surface and a tapered surface opposite the flat surface; at least one stopping peg extending into the channel; and a rolling damp pin positioned within the housing, the rolling clamp moveable within the channel and prevented from rolling out of the channel by the at least one stopping peg."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention relates generally to energy storage and in particular to a community energy storage system.\n\nElectric power grids need to provide electric power in a reliable fashion. These grids may comprise energy storage systems that are used to improve power quality, energy flow and reliability. The energy storage systems may also be used to reduce peak demand and offer temporary relief in neighborhoods at risk to help prioritize and defer capital work to facilitate the integration of renewable technologies such as solar panels into existing power grids.\n\nPCT Application Publication No. WO 2013/0167189 to Tenger et al. discloses a battery energy storage system arranged to be connected to a direct current capacitor, which is connected in parallel to a power converter. The battery energy storage comprises a battery module and a controllable voltage source adapted to inject a voltage opposite to a voltage ripple of the direct current capacitor.\n\nU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0178992 to Graeve discloses an intelligent electronic control and communications interface module for a thermal energy storage module comprising means for bi-directionally communicating data between a thermal energy storage module and a smart grid, wherein the data comprises data concerning the current status of the storage capacity, and requests to store thermal energy or to discharge thermal energy. A thermal energy storage module is also disclosed and comprises such intelligent electronic control and communications interface module.",
  "cpc": [
    "H01M 10/482",
    "F16B 2/14",
    "G01R 31/382",
    "H01M 10/0525",
    "H01M 10/486",
    "H01M 10/488",
    "H01M 10/613",
    "H01M 10/615",
    "H01M 10/627",
    "H01M 10/63",
    "H01M 2/1077",
    "H01M 2/206",
    "H01M 2/34",
    "H01M 2/348",
    "H01M 2220/10",
    "H01M 50/209",
    "H01M 50/509",
    "H01M 50/514",
    "H01M 50/574",
    "H01M 50/581",
    "H01M 50/583",
    "Y02E 60/10",
    "Y02T 10/70",
    "Y10T 24/44"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "F16B 2/14",
    "H01M 10/0525",
    "H01M 10/48",
    "H01M 10/613",
    "H01M 10/615",
    "H01M 10/627",
    "H01M 10/63",
    "H01M 50/209",
    "H01M 50/509",
    "H01M 50/514",
    "H01M 50/574",
    "H01M 50/583"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Ecamion Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Carmine Pizzurro",
    "Himanshu Sudan",
    "Peter McKinnon",
    "Leo Canali"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2013-11-22",
  "publication_date": "2015-10-08",
  "priority_date": "2012-11-22",
  "application_number": "US-201314646878-A",
  "family_id": "50728240",
  "cited_by_count": 3,
  "citations": [
    "US6902444B1",
    "US20110045335A1"
  ]
}