Safety device for a battery contactor in an electric vehicle

• US 10,189,355 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2015
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Thomas, Robert, Roth, Manuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Poos, John W
• Application Number:
  US15/116,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20170008402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,462 Days
• Field of Search: 307116, 307131, 307132 E, 3071414
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/34 of parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• 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: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

The invention relates to a safety device (4) for a contactor (2) connected between a secondary battery and an electrical power network, in particular of a motor vehicle that can be driven electrically, comprising at least one electronic evaluating unit (6), which can be connected to at least one electrical component of the secondary battery by means of a communication connection (5), and at least one safety switch (8), which can be controlled by means of the electronic evaluating unit (6) and which can be arranged in an electrical control circuit (7) of the contactor (2), wherein the electronic evaluating unit (6) is designed to receive at least one component-specific piece of actual information (12) from the electrical component via the communication connection (5), to compare the received piece of actual information (12) with at least one piece of target information stored in the electronic evaluating unit (6), and to control the safety switch (8) in dependence on a result of the comparison in such a way that the electronic evaluating unit closes the safety switch (8) if the piece of actual information (12) corresponds with the piece of target information and opens the safety switch (8) if the piece of actual information (12) does not correspond with the piece of target information.

Claims

1. A safety device (4) for a contactor (2) which is connected between a secondary battery and an electrical power supply system, the safety device comprising:

at least one electronic evaluation unit (6) connected to at least one electrical component of the secondary battery by means of a communication connection (5), and

at least one safety switch (8) driven by way of the electronic evaluation unit (6) and arranged in an electrical control circuit (7) of the contactor (2),

wherein the electronic evaluation unit (6) is configured to

receive at least one component-specific item of actual information (12), which is an unambiguous actual identifier of the electrical component of the secondary battery, from the electrical component by means of the communication connection (5),

compare the received item of actual information (12) with at least one item of target information which is an unambiguous target identifier stored in the electronic evaluation unit (6), and

drive the safety switch (8) depending on a result of the comparison in such a way that said electronic evaluation unit closes the safety switch (8) when the item of actual information (12) corresponds to the item of target information, and opens the safety switch (8) when the item of actual information (12) does not correspond to the item of target information.

3. The safety device (4) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic evaluation device (6) has a self-holding function by means of which the safety switch (8), which is closed on account of correspondence between the item of actual information (12) and the item of target information, is kept closed by the electronic evaluation unit (6) for a time interval of prespecifiable length.

4. The safety device (4) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic evaluation unit (6) is configured to be connected to a bus system of the secondary battery in order to form the communication connection (5) with the at least one electrical component of the secondary battery.

5. A contactor arrangement (1) comprising at least one contactor (2) for connecting a secondary battery to an electrical power supply system and at least one safety device (4) as claimed in claim 1.

2. A safety device (4) for a contactor (2) which is connected between a secondary battery and an electrical power supply system, the safety device comprising:

at least one electronic evaluation unit (6) which can be connected to at least one electrical component of the secondary battery by means of a communication connection (5), and

at least one safety switch (8) driven by way of the electronic evaluation unit (6) and arranged in a control line (10) of the contactor (2), wherein the control line controls a control switch (9) is arranged in an electrical control circuit (7) of the contactor (2),

wherein the electronic evaluation unit (6) is configured to

receive at least one component-specific item of actual information (12), which is an unambiguous actual identifier of the electrical component of the secondary battery, from the electrical component,

compare the received item of actual information (12) with at least one item of target information which is an unambiguous target identifier stored in the electronic evaluation unit (6), and

drive the safety switch (8) depending on a result of the comparison in such a way that said electronic evaluation unit closes the safety switch (8) when the item of actual information (12) corresponds to the item of target information, and opens the safety switch (8) when the item of actual information (12) does not correspond to the item of target information.

6. A method for controlling a contactor (2) which is connected between a secondary battery and an electrical power supply system, the method comprising:

controlling the contactor in such a way that it can be closed by means of an electrical control circuit, which is associated with the contactor (2), exclusively when at least one component-specific item of actual information (12) is an unambiguous actual identifier of the electrical component of the secondary battery, corresponds to at least one item of target information which is an unambiguous target identifier stored in the contactor.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein a check in respect of whether the momentary component-specific item of actual information (12) corresponds to the item of target information which is stored in the contactor (2) is made at prespecifiable cyclical time intervals.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the item of actual information (12) is transmitted in encrypted form.