Charge equalization with series coupling of multiple primary windings for hybrid electric vehicle Li-Ion battery system

Charge equalization scheme for HEV lithium-ion battery system is proposed in this paper, where all the primary windings with in parallel bi-directional switches are coupled in series to provide the equalizing energy from the whole battery string to the specific under charged cells. Moreover, to realize minimized size of equalization circuit employing the proposed cell balancing scheme, the optimal power rating design rule according to equalization time and SOC distribution of imbalance is proposed. A prototype of HEV lithium-ion battery system of four cells shows the outstanding charge equalization performance while maintaining greatly reduced size of cell balancing circuit.