Battery pack and electric vehicle including the same

• US 10,124,693 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2016
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Inventors: Seo, Youngdong, Oh, Seotaek
• Primary Examiner(s): Islam, Muhammad S
• Application Number:
  US15/190,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20170001536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4271 Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0024 Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00302 Overcharge protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00304 Overcurrent protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00306 Overdischarge protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0031 using battery or load disconnect circuits H02J9/002 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00714 in response to battery charging or discharging current
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007188 the charge cycle being controlled or terminated in response to non-electric parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/14 for charging batteries from dynamo-electric generators driven at varying speed, e.g. on vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A battery pack includes a battery, a battery management system (BMS), and an inertia sensor. The battery includes at least one battery cell to supply electricity to a load. The BMS monitors voltage and current states of the battery and to control charge and discharge operations of the battery. The BMS determines a moving state of the load based on inertia information from the inertia sensor and outputs a control signal to interrupt flow of a discharge current of the battery when the discharge current is equal to or greater than a first critical current value for a preset time period and the load is determined to be stationary.

Claims

1. A battery pack, comprising:

a battery including at least one battery cell to supply electricity to a load;

a battery management system (BMS) to monitor voltage and current states of the battery and to control charge and discharge operations of the battery; and

an inertia sensor, wherein the BMS is to determine a moving state of the load based on inertia information from the inertia sensor, and is to output a control signal to interrupt flow of a discharge current of the battery when the discharge current is equal to or greater than a first critical current value for a preset time period and the load is determined to be stationary, the first critical current value indicating that the battery has an error because the discharge current of the battery has exceeded an amount of current for a stationary state of the load indicated by the inertia information, the BMS to determine that the battery has the error when the discharge current is equal to or greater than the first critical current value.

2. The battery pack as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an alarm to generate an alarm signal when the load is determined to be stationary and when the discharge current of the battery is equal to or greater than the first critical current value for the preset time period.

3. The battery pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the BMS is to turn off the inertia sensor when the discharge current of the battery is lower than the first critical current value, and

the BMS is to turn on the inertia sensor when the discharge current of a discharge switch is equal to or greater than the first critical current value.

4. The battery pack as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a global positioning system (GPS) receiver to receive GPS signals to obtain position information, wherein the BMS is to determine a moving state of the load based on the inertia information sensed using the inertia sensor and the position information from the GPS receiver.

5. The battery pack as claimed in claim 4, wherein:

the BMS is to turn off the inertia sensor and the GPS receiver when the discharge current of the battery is lower than the first critical current value, and

the BMS is to turn on the inertia sensor and the GPS receiver when the discharge current of a discharge switch is equal to or greater than the first critical current value.

6. An electric vehicle, comprising:

a motor to operate based on electrical energy; and

a battery pack to supply electrical energy to the motor, wherein the battery pack includes;

a battery including at least one battery cell to supply electricity to a load;

a battery management system (BMS) to monitor voltage and current states of the battery and to control charge and discharge operations of the battery; and

an inertia sensor, wherein the BMS is to determine a moving state of the load based on inertia information from the inertia sensor, and is to output a control signal to interrupt flow of a discharge current of the battery when the discharge current is equal to or greater than a first critical current value for a preset time period and the load is determined to be stationary, the first critical current value indicating that the battery has an error because the discharge current of the battery has exceeded an amount of current for a stationary state of the load indicated by the inertia information, the BMS to determine that the battery has the error when the discharge current is equal to or greater than the first critical current value.

7. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

an alarm to generate an alarm signal when the electric vehicle is determined to be stationary and the discharge current of the battery is equal to or greater than the first critical current value for the preset time period.

8. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

the BMS is to turn off the inertia sensor when the discharge current of the battery is lower than the first critical current value, and

the BMS is to turn the inertia sensor on when the discharge current of a discharge switch is equal to or greater than the first critical current value.

9. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

a GPS receiver to receive GPS signals to obtain position information,

wherein the BMS is to determine a driving state of the electric vehicle based on the inertia information from the inertia sensor and the position information from the GPS receiver.

10. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 9, wherein:

the BMS is to turn off the inertia sensor and the GPS receiver when the discharge current of the battery is lower than the first critical current value, and

the BMS is to turn on the inertia sensor and the GPS receiver when the discharge current of a discharge switch is equal to or greater than the first critical current value.