WO2016202847A1

WO2016202847A1 - Inverter for charging and/or discharging batteries

Info

Publication number: WO2016202847A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/063732
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jens Kaufmann; Thomas LUETH
Original assignee: TRUMPF Hüttinger GmbH + Co. KG
Priority date: 2015-06-15
Filing date: 2016-06-15
Publication date: 2016-12-22
Also published as: DE102015210918A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 101') for charging and/or discharging batteries (2, 3, 4), in particular redox flow batteries, comprising a controllable component (7), which is connected to a data connection, the data connection is designed as a digital signal transmission bus (6), which extends from a communication interface (5) of the inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 101'), which is provided for the data connection of the inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 101') to further inverters (1, 101, 103, 104, 101') and/or to a superordinate controller (107), to the controllable component (7), wherein an accommodating device (9) is provided for accommodating a control processor unit (102) and an internal interface (8) is provided for connecting the control processor unit (102) to the digital signal transmission bus (6).

Description

Inverter for charging and / or discharging batteries

The invention relates to an inverter for charging and / or discharging batteries, in particular redox flow batteries, with a controllable component which is connected to a data connection. In addition, the invention relates to a system with an inverter according to the invention.

Redox flow batteries, which use, for example, electrolyte combinations of V / V, Fe / Cr or Zn / Br, are increasingly being used as stationary energy stores. Integrated into a large system of energy producers and consumers, these serve for grid stabilization or can intercept generator load peaks.

Charging circuits of this or other type are known for example from:

DE 10 2011 017 597 AI, DE 10 2009 054 485 AI,

DE 10 2013 211 951 AI, WHERE 2011 154 306 A2, US 2012 0308856 AI.

The system may include a plurality of inverters each connected to one or more batteries or stacks. Under a stack, in redox flow technology, a stack of several in Series switched cells understood, through which the electrolyte is passed. The multiple inverters each have a battery management system, which is relatively expensive and consumes energy.

The object of the present invention is to provide an inverter and a system that are less expensive and more efficient to operate.

This object is achieved according to the invention by an inverter for charging and / or discharging batteries, in particular redox flow batteries, with a controllable component which is connected to a data connection, wherein the data connection is designed as a digital signal transmission bus, which is provided by a communication interface the inverter for data communication of the inverter to further inverters and / or a higher-level control to the controllable component, wherein a receiving device for receiving a control processor unit and an internal interface for connecting the control processor unit to the digital signal transmission bus

are provided.

This makes it possible to use an inverter with or without

To operate control processor unit. Is the inverter with a

Control processor unit equipped, so the inverter can via its

Control processor unit also take over the control of other inverters, which do not have their own control processor unit. On the other hand, if the inverter is not equipped with a control processor unit, it can also be operated, namely via the control processor unit of another inverter. This is possible because the digital signal transmission bus in

Inverter is guided to the controllable component, but also an internal interface for connecting a control processor unit is present. An inverter with control processor unit can thus be operated as a master, while an inverter without its own control processor unit as Slave can be operated. An inverter that with a

Control processor unit is equipped, thereby has a powerful communication processor, via which the connection to the "outside world" can be realized

For example, connected via a RS485 bus as a data signal transmission bus with the responsible for a power electronics processors. In addition, the digital signal transmission bus designed, for example, as an RS485 bus is led out of the inverter to connect further bus subscribers. The power electronics processors of other inverters, which do not have their own control processor unit, can communicate with the same via the same data signal transmission bus

Control processor unit of the inverter having this, be connected.

The controllable component of the inverter can be designed as an inverter or power electronics controller connected to an inverter. The controllable component can by the

Control processor unit to be controlled. This can be used to control how much power is supplied by the batteries, for example in a network.

According to a development it can be provided that the inverter is designed as a bidirectional inverter. Thus, it is possible, on the one hand to feed power from the grid into the batteries and, on the other hand, if necessary, to feed power from the batteries into the grid.

The inverter may include one or more batteries connected at least indirectly to the inverter. In particular, multiple batteries or stacks may be connected in parallel to the inverter. The batteries can be connected to the inverter via a boost converter. In particular, several can Batteries are connected in parallel to a boost converter, which in turn is connected to the inverter. The batteries may be single batteries, but they may also be so-called stacks, ie, a stack may have a plurality of individual batteries or cells, for example 20 or 40 cells.

The invention also includes a system having a first inverter according to the invention, the receiving device of which is equipped with a control processor unit and at least one second inverter according to the invention, the receiving device of which is unpopulated, the inverters having their communication interfaces being connected to an external digital signal transmission bus, and wherein Control processor unit of the first inverter controls the controllable component of the second inverter or the second. In such a system, the inverters without the control processor unit can be controlled by the control processor unit of the first inverter having the control processor unit. The control and communication effort of the system can be reduced. In such a system it is also possible to compensate for the failure of an inverter, to perform a software update for individual or all inverters and, if necessary, to replace or add inverters without having to switch off the entire system.

In this case, the inverter having the control processor unit can be operated as a master and the second inverters, which do not have their own control processor unit, can be operated as a slave. This allows the master to take over the abstraction of the individual slaves for an external control. Part of this abstraction can also be the automatic operation of the entire system with the best possible

Be efficiency. A battery management controller may be integrated in the control processor unit. Such a control processor unit is described as a controller 'in the German application with the application number 102014200858.1, the content of which is hereby incorporated into this application. The control processor unit can be designed so that it can take over the direct communication with the higher-level control.

If one of the slaves fails, only the available power of the entire system is reduced by the corresponding amount. This also applies to the failure of an inverter operated as a master, as long as the control processor unit thereof is not affected.

It is possible to combine several individual inverters into one intelligent master-slave network that can be controlled externally as a large central inverter.

If at least two first inverters are provided, which are provided with a

Control processor unit are equipped, one of the first inverter as a primary master and the second first inverter can be operated as a secondary master. In particular, the secondary master can monitor the functionality of the primary master and take over its tasks if necessary. This further reduces the failure rate of the system. In particular, the use of at least two first inverters, each with a control processor unit, creates a redundant system. The connection to the outside world, for example, to a battery management system, can be realized via Ethernet, or even the primary and secondary master can over

Ethernet communicate with each other. By scaling up to several master-slave groups, systems can be created for very high power ranges, up to GW. The at least two inverters equipped with a control processor unit can receive the first and the last in a chain of several inverters

Represent chain link. This makes it possible for each inverter (the master-operated inverters and the slave-operated inverters) to be disconnected from the data connection during operation of the system and to be replaced.

The control processor unit may include a controller having a control program stored or implemented thereon. In this case, the controller may be arranged, for example, on a daughterboard. Equipping an inverter with a control processor unit can thus be done in a particularly simple manner by simply plugging the daughterboard into the receptacle and thereby automatically establishing a data connection to the digital signal transmission bus via the internal interface.

Alternatively, it is conceivable that the control processor unit is designed as a box or module. Even with such a configuration, a

Control processor unit particularly easy to be attached to an inverter. If the control processor unit is designed as a component, this can be soldered, for example, to the inverter board.

The invention also includes a method for operating a system according to the invention, wherein one of the first inverters is operated as a primary master and one of the first inverters is operated as a secondary master, which monitors the functionality of the primary master and the tasks of the primary master, if necessary takes over. For example, a requirement is if the primary master itself fails if the data link is in a master-slave link interrupted or the primary master is updated. The failure of the entire system can be avoided.

According to a variant of the method it can be provided that

Software updates are performed by components of the inverter, with the software updates for one inverter after another

be performed. Thus it is possible to have software updates

without having to stop or interrupt the entire system.

It is particularly advantageous if the inverters for which no update is currently being performed compensate for the missing power of the inverter currently in the update process. Thus, power dips can be avoided. Also, the replacement or shutdown of individual inverters is possible without having to turn off the entire system.

If the control processor unit of a first inverter is updated, the rest of the system can continue to run autonomously for the duration of the update. If a secondary master is used, it can take over the control task of the primary master during the update process.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, with reference to the figures of the drawing, which shows essential to the invention, and from the claims. The features shown there are not necessarily to scale and presented in such a way that the features of the invention can be made clearly visible. The various features may be implemented individually for themselves or for a plurality of combinations in variants of the invention. In the schematic drawing embodiments of the invention are illustrated and explained in more detail in the following description.

Show it :

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of an inventive

inverter;

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a system comprising a plurality of inverters according to the invention;

Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a system with inverters according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an inverter 1 for charging and / or discharging batteries 2 to 4. In the illustrated embodiment, only three batteries 2 to 4 are shown. It is understood that different numbers of batteries 2 to 4 can be provided. The batteries 2 to 4 can be designed in particular as redox flow batteries. In particular, the batteries 2 to 4 may be designed as battery stacks.

The inverter 1 has a communication interface 5, which serves the data connection of the inverter 1 to further inverters and / or a higher-level control. The communication interface 5 is connected to a digital signal transmission bus 6 which extends to a controllable component 7 designed as a bidirectional inverter. Furthermore, an internal interface 8 is provided, via which a control processor unit can be connected to the digital signal transmission bus 6. A reception center tion 9 is provided for receiving a control processor unit. In this case, the receiving device 9 may be formed, for example, as a slot for a daughterboard or as a receptacle for a box or a module that can be soldered to a circuit board of the inverter 1.

The batteries 2 to 4 are in the embodiment shown indirectly, in particular via a boost converter 10, with the controllable

Component 7 connected. Trained as an inverter controllable component 7 is connected via an output line 11 to a terminal 12, via the power of the inverter in a

Power supply network can be fed or can be taken over the power from a power grid.

If the data interface 5 is merely used to connect additional inverters, a further communication interface 13 can be provided, via which the inverter 1 can be connected, for example, to a higher-level controller.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of a system 100 having a first inverter 101 corresponding to the inverter 1 of FIG. 1, the first inverter 101 being equipped with a control processor unit 102 arranged in the receptacle 9. The further inverters 103, 104 are likewise designed in accordance with the inverter 1 of FIG. 1, wherein the inverters 103, 104 do not have their own

Have control processor unit. The inverters 101, 103, 104 are connected to each other via the digital signal transmission bus 6. The inverter 101 works as master and the inverters 103, 104 as slaves.

In particular, these are transmitted via the control processor unit 102

controlled. It is indicated by the points 105 that more than the two shown inverters 103, 104 can be provided as slaves. The first Inverter 101 may via another digital signal transmission bus 106, for example, an Ethernet connection, in particular via a

Industrial Ethernet connection, be connected via the communication interface 13 with a higher-level controller 107.

The inverters 103, 104 may be (temporarily) decommissioned, for example, to perform a software upgrade. The operation of the overall system 100 is affected only insignificantly. In particular, the other inverters 101, 103, 104 still in operation may compensate for the failure or shutdown of the disabled inverter.

3 shows an alternative embodiment of a system 200. The system 200 includes two first inverters 101, 10Γ, each having a control processor unit 102. Thus, both first inverters 101, 10 can be operated as master. In particular, the first inverter 101 can be operated as a primary master and the second first inverter 10 as a secondary master. In particular, the inverter 10 can monitor the mode of operation of the inverter 101 and, if necessary, take over its function, ie in particular control inverter 103, which are operated as a slave. The inverter 10 is also connected to the digital signal transmission bus 106 and thus to the higher level one

Controller 107 connected. In particular, this makes it particularly easy to carry out software updates of components of the inverters 101, 103, 10, with the software updates being carried out for one inverter after the other. Those inverters for which no update is currently being carried out can compensate for the missing power of the inverter currently being updated.

From FIG. 3 it is clear that each of the inverters 101, 103, 10 during operation of the data connection, in particular the data signal Transfer bus 6, can be disconnected and can be replaced. The operation of the other inverters will not be affected. A separation of the data signal transmission bus 6, for example at the point 110, does not lead to a failure of the chain of inverters 101, 103, 10. The inverters 103 located to the left of the location 110 may be controlled via the inverter 101, and the inverters located to the right of the location 110 may be controlled via the inverter 10.

The one or more inverters 1, 101, 103, 10 and the higher-level controller 107 may each be in a housing, in particular in a

metallic housing, housed and electrical

Have power supply connections. In the devices, one or more modules may be arranged. Assemblies can be mounted on metallic bodies and / or printed circuit boards.

Furthermore, ventilation connections for air circulation and cooling can be provided. Furthermore, the devices may have various connections such as coolant connections or connections for electrical connection to external components. The control processor unit 102 may be implemented in a microprocessor, e.g. be realized in a digital signal processor (DSP) or in a programmable logic device (PLD), in particular in an FPGA.

Claims

claims

An inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) for charging and / or discharging batteries (2, 3, 4), in particular redox flow batteries, with a controllable component (7) connected to a data connection

is connected, characterized in that the

Data connection as a digital signal transmission bus (6) is formed by a communication interface (5) of the inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) for data connection of the inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10Γ) to further inverters (1 , 101, 103, 104, 10) and / or a higher-level controller (107) for

controllable component (7) runs, wherein a

Recording device (9) for receiving a

Control processor unit (102) and an internal interface (8) for connecting the control processor unit (102) to the

Digital Signalübertragungsbus (6) are provided.

2. Inverter according to claim 1, characterized in that the

Inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) with and without

Control processor unit (102) is operable.

3. Inverter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized

characterized in that the inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) is equipped with a populated control processor unit (102), also assume control of further inverters (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) via its control processor unit (102) can not have their own control processor unit (102).

4. Inverter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized

in that the inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) is set up without a populated control processor unit (102) the control processor unit (102) of another inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10Γ) can be operated.

5. Inverter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized

characterized in that the controllable component (7) as

Inverter or connected to an inverter

Power electronics control is designed.

6. inverter according to claim 5, characterized in that the

Inverter is designed as a bidirectional inverter.

7. Inverter according to one of the preceding claims 5 or 6,

characterized in that the inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) comprises one or more batteries (2, 3, 4) connected to the

Inverters are connected at least indirectly.

8. System (100, 200) with a first inverter (101, 10Γ) after

one of the preceding claims, the receiving device (9) of which is equipped with a control processor unit (102) and at least one second inverter (103, 104) according to one of the preceding claims, the receiving device (9) of which is unpopulated, the inverters (1, 101 , 103, 104, 10) with their communication interfaces (5) to an external digital signal transmission bus (6) are connected, wherein the

Control processor unit (109) of the first inverter (101, 10) controls the controllable component (7) of the second or the second inverter (103, 104).

9. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized

characterized in that at least two first inverters (101, 10Γ), which are equipped with a control processor unit (102),

are provided.

10. System according to claim 6, characterized in that the two with a control processor unit (102) equipped inverter (101, 10) in a chain of a plurality of inverters (101, 103, 10) represent the first and last chain link.

11. System according to one of the preceding claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the control processor unit (102) comprises a controller with thereon stored or implemented control program.

12. System according to claim 8, characterized in that the controller is arranged on a daughterboard.

13. System according to one of the preceding claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the control processor unit (102) is designed as a box or block.

14. A method for operating a system (100, 200) according to any one of the preceding claims 6 to 10, characterized in that one of the first inverter (101) is operated as a primary master and one of the first inverter (10) is operated as a secondary master which monitors the functionality of the primary master and performs the tasks of the primary master if necessary.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that software updates of components of the inverter (l, 101, 103, 104, 10) are performed, wherein the software updates for an inverter (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) after another be performed.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the inverters (1, 101, 103, 104, 10Γ) for which no update is currently being performed, the missing power of the inverter currently in the update process (1, 101, 103, 104, 10) compensate.