Battery management system and method thereof

• US 10,132,868 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2017
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Sun, Chein-Chung, Chou, Chun-Hung, Chen, Chi-Hua
• Primary Examiner(s): Pelton, Nathaniel
• Application Number:
  US15/632,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20180172770A1
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 320152
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/662 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0084 relating to control modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/10 for monitoring or controlling batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/14 Preventing excessive discharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/36 Arrangements for testing, measuring or monitoring the electrical condition of accumulators or electric batteries, e.g. capacity or state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• 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 10/48 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 10/486 for measuring temperature
• 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 2200/00 Safety devices for primary or secondary batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2200/10 : Temperature sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 : Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/574 : Devices or arrangements for the interruption of current
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/581 : in response to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 : with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A battery management system is provided, which may include a power supply module, a measurement module, a switch module and a processing module. The power supply module may be electrically coupled to a load or a charging power source via the switch module. The measurement module may measure a plurality of operation signals from the power supply module. The processing module may determine the operation status of the power supply module by cross comparison between the operation signals, and activate a safety protection item according to the operations signals and the operation status; the processing module may determine to activate a global protection process to turn off the switch module or activate a local protection process to turn off the switch module after a buffer time according to the danger level of the safety protection item.

Claims

1. A battery management system, comprising:

a switch module;

a power supply module, electrically coupled to a load or a charging power source via the switch module;

a measurement module, configured to measure a plurality of operation signals from the power supply module; and

a processing module, configured to determine an operation status of the power supply module by cross comparison between the operation signals, and activate a safety protection item according to the operations signals and the operation status, wherein the processing module determines to activate a global protection process to turn off the switch module or activate a local protection process to turn off the switch module after a buffer time.

2. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the operation signals comprise two or more of a current signal, a voltage signal, a temperature signal and a state-of-charge signal.

3. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the operation status is a discharge status, charge status or an at-rest status.

4. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the processing module determines whether to activate the local protection process or the global protection process according to a danger level of the safety protection item.

5. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the processing module generates an abnormal measurement alarm signal according to at least one of the operation signals and an alarm threshold.

6. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the processing module activates the safe protection item according to the operation status, at least one of the operation signals and a protection activation threshold, and then deactivates the safe protection item according to the operation status, at least one of the operation signals and a protection deactivation threshold.

7. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the power supply module comprises a plurality of battery units, and the measurement module activates a temperature measurement disconnection protection function to measure a voltage division of a thermistor of each of the battery units in order to determine whether a temperature of each of the battery units is correctly measured.

8. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the power supply module comprises a plurality of battery units, and the measurement module activates a voltage measurement disconnection protection function to measure a voltage difference between any two adjacent battery units in order to determine whether a voltage of each of the battery units is correctly measured.

9. The battery management system of claim 1, further comprises an emergency protection module, wherein the switch module is electrically coupled to the load or the charging power source via the emergency protection module, and electrically coupled to the processing module;

the switch module comprises a plurality of sub-switches.

10. The battery management system of claim 3, further comprises an emergency protection module, wherein the switch module is electrically coupled to the load or the charging power source via the emergency protection module;

when a current flowing through the emergency protection module exceeds a threshold, the emergency protection module is automatically cut off.

11. The battery management system of claim 3, wherein the safety protection item is an over-voltage charge protection function, an under-voltage discharge protection function, an over-current charge protection function, an over-current discharge protection function, an over-temperature discharge protection function, an over-temperature charge protection function, an empty protection function, a fully-charged protection function, a constant-voltage charge stage protection function or an internal short-circuited protection function.

12. The battery management system of claim 3, wherein when the processing module determines that the power supply module is in the charge status and a voltage of the power supply module exceeds a protection activation threshold, the processing module activates a fully-charged protection function to activate the global protection process, and then cancels the fully-charged protection function when the voltage of the power supply module is lower than or equal to a lower limit.

13. The battery management system of claim 3, wherein when the processing module determines that the power supply module is in the charge status and reaches a constant-voltage charge stage, the processing module activates a constant-voltage charge stage protection function to activate the global protection process after a duration of the constant-voltage charge stage exceeds a protection activation threshold or a charging cutoff current is lower than a default threshold.

14. The battery management system of claim 5, wherein the processing module activates the local protection process after the abnormal measurement alarm signal lasts a default time period.

15. The battery management system of claim 5, wherein the processing module activates a switch failure protection function to determine whether any one of the sub-switches fails by switching the sub-switches;

if any one of the sub-switches fails, the processing module cuts off the emergency protection module.

16. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein when the processing module determines that an average temperature of the power supply module exceeds a protection activation threshold after the internal short-circuited protection function is activated, the processing module activates an internal short-circuited temperature protection function, and then activates an advanced global protection process to wake up the load and make the load work in full.

17. A battery management method, comprising the following steps:

electrically coupling a power supply module to a load or a charging power source via a switch module;

measuring a plurality of operation signals from the power supply module by a measurement module; and

determining an operation status of the power supply module by cross comparison between the operation signals, and activating a safety protection item according to the operations signals and the operation status by a processing module so as to determine to activate a global protection process to turn off the switch module or activate a local protection process to turn off the switch module after a buffer time.

18. The battery management method of claim 17, wherein the operation signals comprise two or more of a current signal, a voltage signal, a temperature signal and a state-of-charge signal.

19. The battery management method of claim 17, wherein the operation status is a discharge status, charge status or an at-rest status.

20. The battery management method of claim 17, further comprising the following step:

determining whether to activate the local protection process or the global protection process according to a danger level of the safety protection item by the processing module.

21. The battery management method of claim 17, further comprising the following step:

generating an abnormal measurement alarm signal according to at least one of the operation signals and an alarm threshold by the processing module.

22. The battery management method of claim 17, further comprising the following steps:

activating the safe protection item according to the operation status, at least one of the operation signals and a protection activation threshold by the processing module; and

deactivating the safe protection item according to the operation status, at least one of the operation signals and a protection deactivation threshold by the processing module.

23. The battery management method of claim 17, further comprising the following step:

executing a temperature measurement disconnection protection function to measure a voltage division of a thermistor of each of the battery units by the measurement module in order to determine whether a temperature of each of battery units of the power supply module is correctly measured.

24. The battery management method of claim 17, further comprising the following step:

executing a voltage measurement disconnection protection function to measure a voltage difference between any two adjacent battery units of the power supply module by the measurement module in order to determine whether a voltage of each of the battery units of the power supply module is correctly measured.

25. The battery management method of claim 17, wherein the switch module is electrically coupled to the load or the charging power source via an emergency protection module, and electrically coupled to the processing module;

the switch module comprises a plurality of sub-switches.

26. The battery management method of claim 17, further comprising the following step:

electrically coupling the switch module to the load or the charging power source via the emergency protection module, and cutting off the emergency protection module when a current flowing through the emergency protection module exceeds a threshold.

27. The battery management method of claim 18, wherein the safety protection item is an over-voltage charge protection function, an under-voltage discharge protection function, an over-current charge protection function, an over current discharge protection function, an over-temperature discharge protection function, an over-temperature charge protection function, an empty protection function, a fully-charged protection function, a constant-voltage charge stage protection function or an internal short-circuited protection function.

28. The battery management method of claim 18, further comprising the following step:

executing a fully-charged protection function to activate the global protection process by the processing module when the processing module determines that the power supply module is in the charge status and a voltage of the power supply module exceeds a protection activation threshold; and

cancelling the fully-charged protection function by the processing module when the voltage of the power supply module is lower than or equal to a lower limit.

29. The battery management method of claim 18, further comprising the following step:

executing a constant-voltage charge stage protection function by the processing module when the processing module determines that the power supply module is in the charge status and reaches a constant-voltage charge stage so as to activate the global protection process after a duration of the constant-voltage charge stage exceeds a protection activation threshold or a charging cutoff current is lower than a default threshold.

30. The battery management method of claim 20, further comprising the following step:

activating the local protection process by the processing module after the abnormal measurement alarm signal lasts a default time period.

31. The battery management method of claim 24, further comprising the following step:

executing a switch failure protection function by the processing module to determine whether any one of the sub-switches fails by switching the sub-switches; and

cutting off the emergency protection module by the processing module if any one of the sub-switches fails.

32. The battery management method of claim 27, further comprising the following step:

Determining whether an average temperature of the power supply module exceeds a protection activation threshold by the processing module after the internal short-circuited protection function is activated; and

executing an internal short-circuited temperature protection function, and then activating an advanced global protection process to wake up the load and make the load work in full by the processing module by the processing module when the processing module determines that the average temperature of the power supply module exceeds the protection activation threshold.