Method and apparatus for controlling the voltage of electrochemical cells in a rechargeable battery

[0027] The accompanying drawings contribute not only to describing the invention, but may also contribute to defining it, where appropriate.

[0028] The invention relates to controlling the voltage of a rechargeable battery comprising at least two modules connected in series, with each module comprising at least one electrochemical cell.

[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the battery BAT comprises modules Mi (where i=1 to N, N not being less than 2; e.g. N=15), each module comprising an electrochemical cell Gi, e.g. a rechargeable lithium-ion (Li / Ion) type cell. However the invention also applies to batteries of modules Mi each comprising a plurality of electrochemical cells Gij connected in series and / or in parallel. Furthermore, the invention also applies to types of electrochemical cell other than lithium cells, and in particular it applies to silver / zinc cells and to polymer cells, and in general it applies to all batteries in which the various electrochemical cells need to pre...