A Double-Switch Single-Transformer Integrated Equalizer for the Recycled Power Battery String of Automatic Guided Vehicles

Applying the recycled power battery to automatic guided vehicles can greatly reduce system cost and prolong the life cycle of the battery. However, the consistency of recycled power batteries is poor, and the imbalance of battery voltage will occur during the charging or discharging process. Therefore, a double-switch single-transformer integrated equalizer is proposed to balance automatic guided vehicles in both charging and discharging operations. The equalizer's multiwinding transformer shares the dc-dc converter's inductor, and the secondary side generates current by utilizing the current ripple on the primary windings. The battery string is balanced by the multiwinding transformer, without extra switches, when the circuit works in charging and discharging mode. A prototype for four battery cells is built to verify the proposed equalizer and its dynamic balance conditions, and a comparison with existing equalizers is presented. The results show that the system in both modes can realize the automatic balance without affecting the function of the dc-dc converter. The proposed circuit requires fewer components than the existing bidirectional integrated equalizer.

Automated summary

Applying recycled power batteries to automatic guided vehicles can reduce system cost and extend battery life. A double-switch single-transformer integrated equalizer is proposed to balance the batteries during charging and discharging operations.